(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marie-Ève Tremblay. This short-form biography describes inventor and "jack-of-all-trades" William Playfair's road to creating the line graph, bar graph, and pie chart, appreciated only after his death. Like Playfair, illustrator Tremblay thinks outside the box: e.g., a giant-size Playfair stepping out from a building's roof accompanies "Meikle's workshop felt too small to hold all Will's grand dreams." Nuts-and-bolts sidebars and back matter supplement the peppy narrative.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marie-Ève Tremblay. Wacky illustrations with bug-eyed humans and microbes echo the text's light touch in explaining the human microbiome. Fifteen spreads describe microbes--their functions, past and ongoing scientific discoveries, the ability of bacteria to evolve quickly, and the importance of proper use of antibiotics. Pages also include "Did You Know?" fact sidebars and microbes cracking corny jokes in speech bubbles. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges