"Infectious enthusiasm...even the smallest organisms feel like fascinating characters in their own right." - Grace Aldrovandi, MD CM, pediatric infectious disease physician and scientist "Sure to please anyone curious about the little buggers that play such an integral, if unseen, role in our lives." - Sandy Cohen, MPH, science journalist "A delightful gateway to the enchanting world of the microbes that surround us." - Janet Hindler, MCLS, MT (ASCP), F(AAM), microbiologist Microbes are awesome. Microbes have always gotten a little under our skin. But these little fellows that have pestered us since our humble beginnings getting trampled by mammoths help us too. Microbes whip up yogurt, cheese, and delicious teas; clean up oil spills; help us digest our banquets of burgers and chocolate chip cookies; and defend our bodies from less-welcome germs; and connect us with the natural world. Written by a teenage science whiz, A Hodgepodge of Microbes: A Journey into the Marvelous World of Microorganisms  bridges the gap between "baby science" and musty textbook biology. Kids (or curious adults) will laugh at the antics of amoeba, gawk at the parasites that halted some of the greatest construction projects in history, and learn to thank their own personal cast of microbes. With vibrant cartoons and a vivacious, rollicking tone, this book opens a portal into the beautiful realm of microbes for everyone.