BRAINS ON! PRESENTS...MEET MY MICRO-PETS!

A third grader brings her microbiota to show and tell in this picture book from the creators of American Public Media’s podcast Brains On!

Putting a glossy shine on the topic, young Dominique, who presents Black, exuberantly fills her diverse and equally gobsmacked classmates in on the “various viruses, funky families of fungi, and mini mites” that teem by the trillion on and in her body. In the bright cartoon illustrations, Everett opens with 10 children and their teacher sitting in a circle, then zooms in for glimpses of googly-eyed mites laying eggs between eyelashes, stomach germs in hard hats breaking down a sprig of broccoli, grimacing intestinal “micro-pets” producing gas (“kaboom! Mega-fart!”), and other critters making “cool plaque sculptures” on teeth or helping the immune system repel “not-so-nice” intruders. By the time the young STEM winder is winding down (“Plus, they’re great listeners, they love to snuggle, and I never need to walk them”), everyone in class is clamoring for micro-pets of their own. Guess what? “You already have them!” For readers who haven’t made a (futile) dash for the showers at this news, the authors supply light injections of reassurance and further facts at the end along with a list of relevant podcast episodes and a Q&A ascribed to the spinoff podcast Moment of Um. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An invitation to meet the neighbors infused with relentless, though apt, positivity.