Bacteria are living things

Small as can be

Viruses are even smaller

And they aren’t alive at all.

Viruses pass from one living being to another. They can infect us and make us sick. Wherever we live.

Every living thing has its own kinds of viruses. Even bacteria have their own viruses which are much smaller than they are. Even mosquitoes have their own viruses (I wish they had more).

And so do frogs.

Many years ago

People didn’t know

That bacteria are around either,

Because they are so very small.

Viruses are even smaller

So they didn’t know about them either.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

discovered bacteria

with his microscope.

But even he couldn’t see even

tinier viruses

So it took a few hundred more years

Before they were discovered.

Today we can see them using an electron microscope which can help us see even smaller things.

How very small are viruses?

Tinier than tiny

Itsier than bitsy

Eenier than weeny.

So small that a million together

Side by side

Could sit on this very dot

.

Viruses and bacteria don’t have faces

No eyes

No ears

No nose

(I suppose).

They don’t have families. They don’t think. They just are.

Bacteria and viruses each multiply in order to grow. They are not created out of thin air. Bacteria come from the same bacteria. Viruses come from the same viruses.

Bacteria grow by dividing down the middle. They can do this by themselves.

Viruses can’t grow by themselves. They have to infect the cell (a small compartment) in a living being. When they do so, the cell stops doing what it should be doing and makes more viruses instead.

The viruses spread to other parts our body and can make us sick. Sometimes they spread around our body without making us sick.

We can spread viruses and bacteria to other people by coughing or sneezing (because of the tiny droplets which can travel through the air), or by touching other people or the things they might touch.

So do we want them on our hands?

Nope.

So we wash them away,

With water and soap

And if you please,

When you’re about to cough or sneeze

Use a tissue or your sleeve,

And should I even need to ask –

When leaving home please wear a mask.

When there is a vaccine,

We’ll get an injection

Which gives us protection.

And stops us from infecting others

Like our fathers and mothers,

sisters and brothers.

If we’re sick then we stay at home,

Drink a lot

And rest some more

Until we get better and

can go out the door.

One more thing, if you please. Bacteria help make pickles, yogurt and yellow cheese. Most bacteria are helpful. Only a few create disease.

Viruses cause disease. I’m not sure that they are helpful at all. I don’t like them. Perhaps someday someone will discover why all living beings have viruses. I would like to know too.

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]