MEENA AND THE MICROBIOME

A child learns about the roles microbes play everywhere, from garden soil to guts.

Sometimes it’s good to have a scientist in the family. Young Meena’s mother—serving as a mouthpiece for the author, a physician/scientist studying the effects of fecal transplants—gives her (and readers) an earful about microscopic organisms as the two enjoy a day working in a garden. Mom explains that microbes produce that pleasant earthy smell after a rain, break down organic waste to compost, and can make a wet dog smell funky. These “hidden helpers” are found everywhere on Earth and live in large micro-communities, where they share nutrients and chemical signals. But where can you find the largest concentration of microbes? “Inside your belly!” Mom informs Meena. “We are as much microbe as we are human.” They influence our growth and even moods, she goes on, and though most are “our friends,” some can make us sick, so it’s important to wash up regularly. The author delivers all of this in a reassuring tone underscored by Martínez’s cozy scenes of a brown-skinned parent and child rooting around in garden beds, alternating with images of fancifully suburban microbial neighborhoods complete with cars, buildings, and smiling blobby residents.

Informative and aglow with positive messaging.