Baa!: The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read About Genes and Cloning

Nikki Tate-Stratton writes novels for preteens; her latest books are
Jo’s Triumph; Jessa Be Nimble, Rebel Be Quick; Raven’s Revenge; and
Tarragon Island.

Unlike many information books for children, the Mysterious You series
offers a level of detail satisfying enough for adults, and it’s
presented in a format appealing enough for youngsters. Each book
combines a straightforward explanation of topics (as potentially complex
as DNA replication or neurotransmitter activity), with lots of fast
facts and quirky real-life anecdotes illustrating the principles being
discussed.

Rose Cowles’s artwork adds visual details like the structure of an
axon, the double helix, or the human digestive system. She also
contributes zany illustrations that help keep the books playful and
inviting. Though written by different authors, the books have a
consistent feel and in all three cases are clearly written with just the
right balance of hard fact, a little humor, and an obvious respect for
the intelligence of the reader.

Though the subject matter is, at times, somewhat abstract (most of us
will never see cell mitosis in action), there are a number of “You Try
It” activities that children can do on their own without electron
microscopes. These help provide an everyday context for the ideas
discussed and demystify the work of geneticists, nutritionists, and
neuroscientists. Highly recommended.