Do Not Lick This Book
Written by Idan Ben-Barak, Illustrated by Julian Frost

Publisher’s Summary:
Min is a microbe. She is small. Very small. In fact, so small that you’d need to look through a microscope to see her. Or you can simply open this book and take Min on an adventure to amazing places she’s never seen before–like the icy glaciers of your tooth or the twisted, tangled jungle of your shirt.

Primary Source Pairing:
This book may equally intrigue you and gross you out! In an exaggerated “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” style narrative, the reader goes with the microbes deep into magnified images of cloth, teeth, and skin.

For this primary source pairing, invite visual learners to study two images of students using microscopes. The first image is a group of students in 1944, the second image is a student in 2016. If the instructional space and time allow, set up microscopes as an extension to storytime. Alternatively, use this book as an anticipatory set for a lesson using microscopes.

Questions for Discussion:

• Describe what you see.
• What do you notice first?
• What people and objects are shown?
• How are they arranged?
• What is the physical setting?
• What’s happening in the image?
• Make a connection between the two images.
• Identify a difference between the two images.
• Infer what the students may be studying under the microscope.

Credits:
“Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune-Cookman College. Students using microscopes” photograph: Library of Congress
Student using a microscope at the Center of Innovation at the Joint Base Andrews Youth Center photograph: https://www.jba.af.mil
Book Cover and Summary: Follett