Malaria Parasites

Gr 3–5—Plenty of facts and photographs support the "awful, disgusting" promise of the series title. There's also solid, though sometimes scattered, information about how these creatures live and interact with humans. Each beginning describes an unsuspecting human who crosses paths with a parasite, leading into a discussion of the creature and its potential effect on people and animals. At times, the presentation could be more thorough. In Tapeworms, for example, readers learn that "50,000 people die from tapeworms each year" but nothing on how or why those deaths happen. Photographs are appropriately gross and generally informative and feature several excellent magnified close-up views, specifically in Bedbugs, Ticks, and Head Lice. Useful features include a "By the Numbers" statistics section, a range map, and a life cycle flow chart.