Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* This colorful book offers an engaging combination of scientific facts and historical anecdotes about things that make us itch, along with practical advice for dealing with them. After an opening chapter covering skin, nerve endings, and immune-system reactions, the discussion focuses on seven specific causes of itching: lice, fleas, mosquitoes, tarantulas, bedbugs, plants, and fungi. The final chapter looks at the bright side of itchiness, which sometimes acts as a warning, a distraction from pain, or a means of developing a healthy immune system. Sanchez provides interesting, well-researched answers to questions readers may never have thought to ask, from Why do mosquitoes bite people? to How can I build a flea trap? Even readers who never expect to encounter a prickly pear plant or a tarantula will enjoy Sanchez's lively presentation of fascinating facts. Combining digital and hand-painted elements, Ford's playful illustrations brighten every page, sometimes clarifying points made in the text while adding cartoon-style elements of childlike humor. In one, a mosquito, elegantly dressed in shoes, long gloves, and a feathered hat, prepares to feast on her human victim's blood while a worried-looking moon gazes down on the scene. Factual and surprisingly fun, this very readable book covers a common experience.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-There's much here to attract readers in search of the gross or unsettling: mosquito saliva injected under the skin to keep the blood flowing, flesh-eating fungus, bedbugs infesting the folds and seams of a quilt. While students might approach the book for casual reference or brief readings, it does lack a unifying narrative or appealing visuals. Readers will open with an introduction to the skin and immune system and then encounter a new class of irritant with each chapter-lice, fleas, plants, fungus, etc. Informative descriptions outline the mechanism of common itchy irritants, including the tiny stinging spines (glochids) that cover the prickly pear cactus or the irritating setae that tarantulas rip from their hind legs and fling at potential predators. Many remedies are offered, particularly traditional, folk, or nontoxic solutions, such as using fresh cucumber to soothe the irritation from stinging nettle or massaging a dog with coconut oil for treatment of flea bites. Ford's illustrations are colorful and lighthearted but add little to the text, particularly in exposition of scientific research. There are no photographs. The text includes a glossary and index, as well as a significant bibliography and list of helpful websites, in addition to a handful of specific source notes. VERDICT Despite being an adequate reference source on an off-beat subject, this is nonetheless a secondary purchase.-Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
This primer explains how itching works in the layers and nerve endings of human skin, and which bugs, plants, and fungi can cause it. Funny cartooned illustrations depict dressed-up fleas, lice, bedbugs, nettles, poison ivy, and more. Sidebars offer "Soothe the Itch" and "Avoid the Itch" tips. An entertaining and informative volume for middle-grade readers fascinated by the slightly disgusting. Websites. Bib., glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
That irritating itch that cannot be scratched away is an experience just about everybody can relate to, and here are the entertaining and informative explanations of what's behind those itches.There are approximately 500 sweat glands, 20 blood vessels, and 1,000 nerve endings in 1 square inch of skin, and there's lots of flora and fauna to irritate that sensitive epidermis. In an engaging, substantive text and comical color illustrations, Sanchez and Ford reveal the assorted plants and creepy crawlies that make us itch and scratch. The tiny critters who irritate, such as bedbugs, fleas, lice, and mosquitoes, all share the common goal of sucking our blood. If you are an unfortunate recipient of skunk spray, the itch it gives you may be worse than the smell. You should handle caterpillars and tarantulas with care. When you're strolling through the great outdoors, beware of poison ivy, oak, and sumac, nettles, prickly pears, and burrs. There's great advice on how to soothe your itches and nontoxic alternatives for keeping away the sources. Itching isn't necessarily a bad thing; a good scratch can alert us that something's wrong, and the "hygiene hypothesis" posits that irritating things may actually make us healthier. Humans depicted in Ford's colorful cartoons are of varying skin tones; the vibe for the depictions of such pests as lice and fleas is humorous rather than icky, offering a nice balance to the text.A fun, intriguing, and accessible mix of anatomy and history, with a healthy dose of gross. (glossary, notes, bibliography, websites, index) (Nonfiction. 7-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
