Power to the Parasites by Chelsea L. Wood ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Power to the Parasites! lets you in on a Parasites are all around you, all the time, quietly running the world. You might think of them as slimy, disgusting freeloaders – tapeworms and roundworms and ticks and lice, too small to be important and too selfish to be valued. But by the end of this book, you’ll realize that sometimes parasites are the good guys.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

November 2024; Godwin Books; 978-1250833983
ebook, print (176 pages); nonfiction science

For my day job, I handle communications for an academic research center where most of the faculty work on parasites. Parasites weren't ever something I really gave much thought to as I was more interested in mammals and birds during my biology studies. But over the last 20-something years, my curiosity has been piqued. 

Most of my knowledge about parasites is of those that cause human disease, though I'm familiar with most of the parasites that plague our companion animals and livestock just through living and working with the animals.

I thought I would give this middle grades book a try. I liked that it covered some parasites that I'm not familiar with.

I have read other nonfiction books meant for young readers and often they just use simpler words and fewer details in the texts. Power to the Parasites did this but went further with incorporating more language and tone that would be used by a middle-grade kid (instead of just language and tone that an adult uses to explain to a kid). I think this will be more appealing to young readers.

There are some illustrations of life cycles and such. From the cover and title, I thought that perhaps this would be more of a graphic novel-type book. It isn't—the story is fully in prose. 

It is a short book but it is chock full of information. A nerdy, geeky kid who is passionate about science (and parasites in particular) will love this book. 

Buy Power to the Parasites at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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