Bacteria are living things

Small as can be

They live everywhere

Up a tree

In the water

In the air

Everywhere you choose to stare

On the ground and all around

In my city

In your town

And on the way

From Up to Down

You will always find bacteria in a pickle

And in yogurt too,

Making pickles and yogurt tasty

Is part of what they do

And, if you please,

Bacteria help make yellow cheese.

Bacteria live on your thumbs and gums

Behind your ears and in your tears

And there are those way up your nose

And heaven knows between your toes.

Many years ago

People didn’t even know

That bacteria are all around

People didn’t even know

That bacteria are, at all,

Because they are so very small.

Until one day a man named

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Looked at them in his microscope.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Is a big name

But sometimes it takes a big name

To see small things.

A microscope makes tiny things look big.

Even people who don’t wear glasses

And can read this line from a mile away

A B CAN U C D PUPPIES?

Can’t see bacteria at all

Because they are so very small.

The only hope

Is with a microscope.

This fly

in a microscope

looks ten floors high

but is really just

a little fly.

How very small are bacteria?

Tinier than tiny

Itsier than bitsy

Eenier than weeny.

So small that a million together

Side by side

Could sit on this very dot

.

How many is a million?

Quite a lot.

More than all your

Hairs and mine

Even more than

Nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand

Nine hundred and ninety-nine.

Looking through the microscope we can see

All kinds of bacteria

Straight ones, curved ones,

Long and short ones

Bacteria in a chain,

Just like a train.

Some of them can even swim

From there to here

And back again.

Bacteria don’t have faces

No eyes

No ears

No nose

(I suppose).

Do bacteria have a family?

Certainly not.

No brother

No mother

Bacteria are not born like you and I were.

When bacteria have enough food and water

they grow (just like we do)

and they divide

Down the middle,

(No, we don’t do that!)

One on each side.

Now there are two bacteria,

One on the right and one on the left.

They grow too.

When each divides,

The two become four,

And then eight and sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four

And more and more,

And if just one starts to grow on Saturday night

We’ll have bacteria galore

By Sunday at four.

And when there are bacteria galore,

A million or more,

Living next to each other

Door to door to door to door,

They become a colony,

And we can see the whole bunch together

Without a microscope.

The colony can be

White or orange,

Yellow or pink.

Sometimes they smell nice

But usually they stink.

Most bacteria are fine

And don’t cause any trouble.

There are just a few that do,

And some viruses too.

Do we want them on our hands?

Nope.

So we wash them away,

With water and soap,

Or use alcohol gel

And then we can eat

And spend time with

family and friends.

Some bacteria

Make holes in our teeth

And bad smells.

So we chase those away

With some toothpaste and a brush.

Since bacteria grow and grow

We clean our teeth every single day.

And when we get a cut

And bleed a bit,

The blood keeps the bacteria

From getting through the skin.

And to help even more,

We clean the cut

With alcohol and things

That kill the bacteria

But also sting

A bit.

Some bacteria can cause disease

So we get a few needles

And some drops too

That protect our bodies

From getting sick.

And make us better

When we do.

Bacteria don’t sleep,

But people do,

And I am getting tired too,

So if you liked this little book,

Maybe someday I’ll write another,

Maybe on cats, maybe on bats,

Maybe on dogs,

Or how about frogs?

Or toads on roads and boats by the Seine,

Fishes on dishes, worms in the rain,

Eels on wheels, and orange peels,

The tower of Babel, Cain and Abel,

Things I adore, what a piano is for,

Skunks that smell, but not so well,

I have so many books to write,

I’ll NEVER get to sleep tonight!

Bacteria Galore by Sunday at Four is translated into Hebrew, Arabic, French and Russian. Check out the catalog:

Thank you for reading our book!

If you like it, you might also want to read other children’s books that I’ve written and Tali Niv-Dolinsky has illustrated. For example:

“What to Do with  a Used Toothbrush”

Read more about me and see ALL my books on Ourboox (I have many)

Or even better, create a book of your own!!!

Here is a tutorial to help you get started on your own voyage as an Ourboox contributor!!

And finally, you can always write me at [email protected]