Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies (review)

The world that we can’t see is even more populous than the world we can, a point made by biologist Davies in her introduction to microbes for very young audiences. Simple descriptions and comparisons (“There are creatures so tiny that millions could fit on this ant’s antenna”) help explain this group of organisms, with points made about their variability, their durability, and their human-relevant achievements; the book also makes a point of noting that microbes that make you sick are in the minority (“Most microbes are busy doing other things”). The subject is broader than usual for Davies’ early biology treatises, and the absence of the slightly more sophisticated secondary narrative found in those makes this an entry-level approach for kids who are just starting to think about the world beyond the visible. While the book oversimplifies at times, the colorful examples and vivid explanations (the book gives microbes big credit for their ability to multiply at speed) help bring this unseen world to life. Though scale is confusing in a few illustrations, the figures, in a retro autumnal palette on cream matte pages, have a charming naïveté. Microbes are an undertreated topic in literature for the younger crowd, and this could be a good introduction for that first revelatory look through a microscope.