Your Body Battles a Stomachache

Uh oh! Your stomach really hurts. You're feeling queasy. And you know what's coming next. But did you also know that these feelings are the start of a battle? A germ, probably a virus, is attacking your intestines. So your brain sends a message to your stomach to get rid of its contents. You throw up. Goblet cells launch into action, flooding your intestines with mucus. Then you have diarrhea to wash away the viruses. The experience may not be pleasant, but your body is winning the battle against the virus invaders. Get a close look at this body battle with comic illustrations and ground-breaking photomicrographs. The photomicrographs magnify the actual cellular processes tens of thousands of times, offering you a front-row seat for all the action.

Uh oh! Your stomach really hurts. You're feeling queasy. And you know what's coming next. But did you also know that these feelings are the start of a battle? A germ, probably a virus, is attacking your intestines. So your brain sends a message to your stomach to get rid of its contents. You throw up. Goblet cells launch into action, flooding your intestines with mucus. Then you have diarrhea to wash away the viruses. The experience may not be pleasant, but your body is winning the battle against the virus invaders. Get a close look at this body battle with comic illustrations and ground-breaking photomicrographs. The photomicrographs magnify the actual cellular processes tens of thousands of times, offering you a front-row seat for all the action.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5

The body's immune system has never looked like this before with plasma cells using sling shots to fire antibodies into viruses, platelets riding inner tubes down a stream of blood, and viruses multiplying in a "Germco" factory. Each title introduces five or six defense cells, disguised as superheroes protecting the body from adversarial viruses (unspecified in Skinned Knee , rotavirus in Stomachache , and rhinovirus in Cold ). The normal body functions are introduced before focusing on what happens when things go awry. The oversize text uses metaphors that readers will understand, such as comparing the stomach to a "food processor" or a macrophage to a "garbage truck." The physical process of vomiting is explained and illustrated in Stomachache , while diarrhea is described less graphically. Sanitary precautions are mentioned where appropriate. Most of the vivid, double-page illustrations include a pertinent, labeled micrograph, with magnification indicated. Contrasting insets offer more detailed information. The books can be read following only the general texts, but the micrographs will fascinate and compel young readers to read everything.-Carol S. Surges, McKinley Elementary School, Wauwatosa, WI

Vicki Cobb is a well-known author of more than eighty-five highly entertaining nonfiction books for children. Cobb's lighthearted approach to hands-on science has become her trademark for getting kids involved in experiences that create real learning. Cobb also writes a weekly column, Show-Biz Science, for EducationalWorld.com. Her picture book I Face the Wind was a 2004 Sibert Honor book. Her latest Lerner series is Where's the Science Here?

Andrew N. Harris holds an Associates Degree from the Art Center of College and Design as well as a BFA in Illustration and Graphic Design from Brigham Young University-Idaho. He is the illustrator of 20 Hungry Piggies, a Fall 07 Millbrook picture book.

Dennis Kunkel is an award-winning photomicrographer whose images appear worldwide in print, film, and electronic media. Considered one of the world's experts on the topic, he is the author of more than 50 research papers on microscopy. Formerly of the University of Hawaii and the University of Seattle, he has left academia to devote full time to the development of photomicrographs. His latest book, co-authored with Alexandra Siy, is Mosquito Bite.