A GARDEN IN YOUR BELLY

An attractive primer about the human microbiome.

The nature metaphor begins with the “river” flowing—one’s intestine. This river has tight “folds and turns,” but if it were stretched out “it would be ten times as tall as you are!” It feeds and supports the “garden in your belly.” Tiny, gleeful, googly-eyed microorganisms fill the page. But as one particularly astute microbe asks, “Where does your garden come from?” D’yans explains how humans collect new microbes with everything they touch or eat. The blobby, kaleidoscopic creatures with wide, inviting eyes appear sweet and safe. Then they settle in to become a garden, blooming and growing (and yes, even sleeping). D’yans stresses the importance of having a variety in one’s garden—the microbes all have different shapes and hues, swaying amid the intestinal river. The actual job of a microbe is tricky to explain: “Your garden microorganisms put out fires and take the garbage out. Sometimes they have adventures and strange encounters. / They can even influence your thoughts and feelings.” D’yans encourages healthy habits: exercise, fresh air, water, and healthy foods to keep one’s garden strong. If bad microbes take over, the river becomes polluted—sickly greens and purples bubble up in the illustrations, and the microbes turn darker with large teeth and pointed features. Further exploration into the microbiome is appended. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.875-by-21.25-inch double-page spreads viewed at 22.5% of actual size.)

A gentle look deep inside.