An in-depth look at viruses. In this work translated from Dutch, the author rightly points out that viruses are ubiquitous but mostly harmless or even, in the case of bacteriophages, potentially beneficent, but here he focuses on those that are "tiny little troublemakers." Casting them alternately as cartoon villains ("chuckling away" to themselves as conspiracy theorists reject public health measures) and as terrors that wiped out millions, he explains how viruses in general spread, mutate, and can unpredictably jump from animals to people. Along with retracing in exact detail the likely origins of the 1918 flu pandemic, SARS, AIDS, Ebola, and Covid-19, he describes the ways our immune systems respond to infections and significant medical triumphs. The author does sometimes wander off topic in the interests of telling a colorful story, so the Black Death and Typhoid Mary trot by even though, as he admits, both involved bacteria, not viruses. But a poignant interview with three children who lost their grandfather to Covid-19 adds a tragic personal note to all the tales of generalized catastrophe, and following stout arguments for the value of vaccination, the author closes with hopeful notes about new ways to counter future viral outbreaks and pandemics. Panders' cartoon drawings of microbes with expressive faces, slimy floods of mucus, and a diverse array of victims (some green-faced) further lighten both message and informational load. Chronicles episodes in an epic, age-old struggle but lightly enough to keep the megrims at bay. (index) (Nonfiction. 9-11) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Although viruses can seem scary and seemingly ever-present in our daily lives, this comprehensive guide takes a lighter tone, complemented by spot cartoon art, to discuss all aspects of these invisible invaders. Each chapter focuses on a specific virus to introduce a topic. Beginning with COVID-19, the author discusses virus basics, including what they are and how they work, and he continues with SARS to explain how viruses spread, AIDS to explain how viruses cause illness and the body's responses to their presence, smallpox to explain vaccinations, and so on. Reinforcing the evidence-based text are numerous accounts of notable scientists and their groundbreaking discoveries. Subsections break up the text to make it more accessible and offer related information, such as mutations, how viruses jump from animals to humans, vaccine guinea pigs, patient zero, and fake news concerning viruses. Whether the author discusses historic or newer viruses, readers can draw many connections to today's COVID-19 pandemic, like the use of masks and quarantines during the flu of 1918. Relevant and engaging for the middle-grade set.