A Pandemic Is Worldwide
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

This Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science early reader is a straightforward guide to infectious diseases. Accessible text defines words that kids have likely been hearing (pandemic, virus, quarantine, vaccine, COVID-19) and uses vocabulary and examples that children should relate to. The text introduces prior pandemics (bubonic plague, smallpox) before specifically addressing COVID, and talks about each disease's worldwide impact. All this sounds pretty dire, but the overall tone manages to stay reassuring, explaining where diseases come from, how they spread, and ways to stay healthy. The cheerful illustrations support the text, showing how germs flow through the air offset by pictures of children and adults engaged in healthy practices. One diagram charts actions that keep COVID from spreading (wearing masks; staying home); another offers a step-by-step guide to handwashing. There's also a glossary and time line of historic pandemics. The book does talk about COVID in the past tense and ends with a line about when the pandemic was over at last. Hopefully, though improbably, that past tense will be appropriate by the February 2022 publication date.

This installment of the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series explains pandemics, viruses, and vaccines in clear, patient terms. Opening by differentiating between outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics, and touching on past pandemics (including the bubonic plague and smallpox), Thomson then focuses on Covid-19: how it propagates, common symptoms, and how to stop the spread ("Simple choices like staying home as much as you can and wearing a mask when you go out can help slow the spread of a disease like COVID-19"). Helpful inset boxes offer etymology and additional context: "Corona means 'crown.' If you look at a coronavirus under a microscope, it looks a bit like it's wearing a spiky crown." Morley provides textural illustrations, rendered in watercolor and digitally, showing a cast of varying ages and skin tones. Though the treatment of Covid-19 as over strikes an odd note, this is a comprehensive, age-appropriate primer for curious, concerned young readers. Back matter features a glossary, a handwashing diagram, and a timeline of past pandemics. Ages 4--8. (Feb.)

PreS-Gr 2--In simple terms and with lots of explanatory illustrations, this addition to the "Let's-Read-and-Find-Out" series offers an objective view of a pandemic that is easy to understand. Beginning with an explanation of how an illness can become an outbreak, epidemic, and pandemic, Thomson then presents a brief history of pandemics, and how they were eliminated with quarantines and eventually through the invention of vaccines. She characterizes Europeans who brought diseases, such as smallpox, which killed so many Indigenous people in the Western Hemisphere, as invaders. The work describes the current pandemic, illustrates how the coronavirus is spread by saliva and phlegm, and explains how it can make some people sicker than others. Stating that a pandemic is caused by a bacteria or a virus, the book describes ways in which readers can actively inhibit the spread of the disease through handwashing, covering injuries, and staying away from sick people; it emphasizes the importance of isolation with a very helpful chart, and even includes directions for proper handwashing technique. Other additions include a glossary and time line of pandemics with numbers of deaths from each. VERDICT This slender volume may alleviate fears and help readers understand how illness spreads, while its underlying message is that those who wear masks, wash their hands, and stay home can help to end pandemics.--MaryAnn Karre, Binghamton, NY

Young readers gain insight into what pandemic means. Previous generations of youngsters may not have been familiar with the word pandemic, but today's youngsters surely are. News of the global coronavirus outbreak has unavoidably reached young ears, and this offering joins a growing crop of picture books designed to shed light on the momentous and confusing situation. Opening with a digestible lesson on how pandemics develop and a brief historical overview of medical plagues of the past, the text then turns a microscope on the Covid-19 virus--its physical symptoms, social effects, and what people can do to curb its spread. The roles of vaccine development and scientific advances in the field of immunology are highlighted throughout the book. The illustrations of earnest doctors administering vaccines to willing children will rub anti-vaxxers the wrong way, but the wholesome overarching message of "we're all in this together" will play well to the intended audience. Morley's colorful art, which uses a combination of watercolor and digital techniques, depicts few characters of color; authority figures and most characters present as White. A gently worded explainer for young readers looking for answers. (glossary, timeline, hand-washing diagram) (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

This Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science early reader is a straightforward guide to infectious diseases. Accessible text defines words that kids have likely been hearing (pandemic, virus, quarantine, vaccine, COVID-19) and uses vocabulary and examples that children should relate to. The text introduces prior pandemics (bubonic plague, smallpox) before specifically addressing COVID, and talks about each disease's worldwide impact. All this sounds pretty dire, but the overall tone manages to stay reassuring, explaining where diseases come from, how they spread, and ways to stay healthy. The cheerful illustrations support the text, showing how germs flow through the air offset by pictures of children and adults engaged in healthy practices. One diagram charts actions that keep COVID from spreading (wearing masks; staying home); another offers a step-by-step guide to handwashing. There's also a glossary and time line of historic pandemics. The book does talk about COVID in the past tense and ends with a line about when the pandemic was over at last. Hopefully, though improbably, that past tense will be appropriate by the February 2022 publication date. Grades 1-4. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.

This installment of the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series explains pandemics, viruses, and vaccines in clear, patient terms. Opening by differentiating between outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics, and touching on past pandemics (including the bubonic plague and smallpox), Thomson then focuses on Covid-19: how it propagates, common symptoms, and how to stop the spread ("Simple choices like staying home as much as you can and wearing a mask when you go out can help slow the spread of a disease like COVID-19"). Helpful inset boxes offer etymology and additional context: "Corona means ‘crown.' If you look at a coronavirus under a microscope, it looks a bit like it's wearing a spiky crown." Morley provides textural illustrations, rendered in watercolor and digitally, showing a cast of varying ages and skin tones. Though the treatment of Covid-19 as over strikes an odd note, this is a comprehensive, age-appropriate primer for curious, concerned young readers. Back matter features a glossary, a handwashing diagram, and a timeline of past pandemics. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

PreS-Gr 2—In simple terms and with lots of explanatory illustrations, this addition to the "Let's-Read-and-Find-Out" series offers an objective view of a pandemic that is easy to understand. Beginning with an explanation of how an illness can become an outbreak, epidemic, and pandemic, Thomson then presents a brief history of pandemics, and how they were eliminated with quarantines and eventually through the invention of vaccines. She characterizes Europeans who brought diseases, such as smallpox, which killed so many Indigenous people in the Western Hemisphere, as invaders. The work describes the current pandemic, illustrates how the coronavirus is spread by saliva and phlegm, and explains how it can make some people sicker than others. Stating that a pandemic is caused by a bacteria or a virus, the book describes ways in which readers can actively inhibit the spread of the disease through handwashing, covering injuries, and staying away from sick people; it emphasizes the importance of isolation with a very helpful chart, and even includes directions for proper handwashing technique. Other additions include a glossary and time line of pandemics with numbers of deaths from each. VERDICT This slender volume may alleviate fears and help readers understand how illness spreads, while its underlying message is that those who wear masks, wash their hands, and stay home can help to end pandemics.—MaryAnn Karre, Binghamton, NY