Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Illustrations based on microscope images reveal a world of fantastic, sometimes frightening-looking creatures who share our world.Jenkins familiar collage illustrations, set on stark backgrounds, seem ideally suited for display of the monsters in miniature described in this latest offering. From the alien-appearing thistle mantis to the roly-poly tardigrade, he gives readers multiple views of faces, feelers, teeth, and claws, all highly enlarged; the creatures overall appearance; and its original size. There are worms that live inside us, mites that live on our outsides, insects that bite us, and intriguing creatures whose lives have nothing obvious to do with ours, including a marine scale worm that lives at a volcanic vent deep in the Pacific Ocean. Each is introduced with a lighthearted headline (Its a Sleepover! for the house dust mites that live in pillows and bed linens). Most creatures get a single page; a few get a full double-page spread. The extent of enlargement is always noted; some actual sizes are too small to see. An illustrators note explains that the electron microscope images are black and white; the illustrator used color to highlight the forms and details of the microscopic creatures; but the dragon springtails blue body and orange spines are accurate. Alas, the book has no page numbers, but the thumbnail images accompanying further information on each critter in the backmatter correspond to the order in which the animals appear. Another impressive outing by a popular pair. (Informational picture book. 4-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Illustrations based on microscope images reveal a world of fantastic, sometimes frightening-looking creatures who share our world. Jenkins’ familiar collage illustrations, set on stark backgrounds, seem ideally suited for display of the monsters in miniature described in this latest offering. From the alien-appearing thistle mantis to the roly-poly tardigrade, he gives readers multiple views of faces, feelers, teeth, and claws, all highly enlarged; the creature’s overall appearance; and its original size. There are worms that live inside us, mites that live on our outsides, insects that bite us, and intriguing creatures whose lives have nothing obvious to do with ours, including a marine scale worm that lives at a volcanic vent deep in the Pacific Ocean. Each is introduced with a lighthearted headline (“It’s a Sleepover!” for the house dust mites that live in pillows and bed linens). Most creatures get a single page; a few get a full double-page spread. The extent of enlargement is always noted; some actual sizes are too small to see. An illustrator’s note explains that the electron microscope images are black and white; the illustrator used color “to highlight the forms and details” of the microscopic creatures; but the dragon springtail’s blue body and orange spines are accurate. Alas, the book has no page numbers, but the thumbnail images accompanying further information on each critter in the backmatter correspond to the order in which the animals appear. Another impressive outing by a popular pair. (Informational picture book. 4-10) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Jenkins and Page (The Frog Book, rev. 1/19) team up to tackle a subject that may make your skin crawl -- while introducing you to what's crawling on your skin. Each tiny, often microscopic organism described here is boldly illustrated with cut-and-torn-paper collage and magnified as much as four hundred times its actual size. This allows the viewer to see each and every hair on the zebra jumping spider's body, or the walrus-like tusks on the cat flea. Some "tiny monsters" will be familiar, such as the bedbug or head louse. Others will seem as if they're from another planet entirely (take a look at the marine scale worm...or don't). The text accompanying each organism is brief but succinct, and additional information about each of the twenty-four creatures included is given at book's end. Perhaps appropriately, the authors provide a warning on the first page: "After meeting some of these tiny monsters, you may never look at your cereal, your pillow, or your eyelashes in quite the same way." (c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.