Author(s): Sarah L. Thomson; Taia Morley (Illustrator)

Health & Wellbeing

Read and find out the science behind a pandemic and how to stay safe in this illustrated, informative nonfiction picture book. 

Everybody gets sick now and then--maybe with a runny nose or a sore throat. But sometimes, a lot of people get sick at once. If a disease spreads all over the world, that's a pandemic.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of kids across the world and has caused fear and confusion as people in charge have given conflicting orders. Read to discover the answers to some of your biggest questions, including:

What is a pandemic How are they created and spread Has anything like this ever happened before What is a coronavirus What can we do to stay safe and healthy

While pandemics are rare, several have happened throughout the world's history, such as the bubonic plague and smallpox, and our scientists have observed and learned some important lessons, such as the importance of vaccines.

This Level 2 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out shares important facts about past and current pandemics, taking readers from the origin of the word "quarantine" and through history's many pandemics, to milestones such as the first vaccine that helped end smallpox.

This book also comes with a handwashing diagram, a glossary, and a timeline of past pandemics and their impact on the world.

This is a clear and appealing science book for early elementary age kids, both at home and in the classroom. It's a Level 2 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out, which means the book explores more challenging concepts for children in the primary grades. The 100+ titles in this leading nonfiction series are:

• hands-on and visual


• acclaimed and trusted


• great for classrooms

Top 10 reasons to love LRFOs:

• Entertain and educate at the same time


• Have appealing, child-centered topics


• Developmentally appropriate for emerging readers


• Focused; answering questions instead of using survey approach


• Employ engaging picture book quality illustrations


• Use simple charts and graphics to improve visual literacy skills


• Feature hands-on activities to engage young scientists


• Meet national science education standards


• Written/illustrated by award-winning authors/illustrators & vetted by an expert in the field


• Over 130 titles in print, meeting a wide range of kids' scientific interests

Books in this series support the Common Core Learning Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) standards. Let's-Read-and-Find-Out is the winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Outstanding Science Series.