Superbugs Strike Back: When Antibiotics Fail (Discovery!) [Library Binding]

Connie Goldsmith (Author)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Library Binding: 112 pages
• Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books (CT) (February 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822566079
• ISBN-13: 978-0822566076
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,287,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Connie Goldsmith writes about science and health for children and adults. Most of her books are published by Lerner Publishing's nonfiction imprint, Twenty-First Century Books. Her works include books about leukemia, malaria, skin cancer, hepatitis, influenza, meningitis, antibiotic resistant infections, and emerging infectious diseases.

As an RN with a master's degree in health, Connie also writes continuing education articles for nurses on a wide variety of topics, and has written for other healthcare professionals as well. She writes a pediatric health column for a regional parenting magazine.

Other writing venues include reviewing books for the online review site, The New York Journal of Books, and for California Kids, a Sacramento regional parenting magazine.

She has had articles published in the children's magazines Cricket, and Highlights, among others, and has written for the SCBWI Bulletin, Children's Writer, and Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market.

Visit Connie's website at www.conniegoldsmith.com for more information.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbugs Will Hold Your Attention, November 21, 2009

By 

Spudman (Pasadena, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Superbugs Strike Back: When Antibiotics Fail (Discovery!) (Library Binding)

Adolescents may be the target audience for "Superbugs", but adults will find it just as enjoyable. A recently read book about antibiotics took me months to finish and left me feeling like a blubbering idiot because of the complex content and barrage of data. Superbugs, on the other hand, is very understandable, and though I still don't grasp all the nuances of the microbic world, I have now graduated from total dunce to borderline dunce. That's progress.
Relatively short chapter lengths are great for the short attention spans of both adolescents and potato heads. Almost every turn of the page reveals an intensely detailed photograph, helpful chart, or annotated graphic. These visual aids are invaluable for those of us who need a little more help interpreting the text. The full-page photograph of a Komodo dragon, its saliva laden mouth wide open for the rat on a stick before it, is absolutely stunning.

In the back of the book are a short glossary, source notes, a selected bibliography, and a list of additional books and websites for further reading and study. This was an enjoyable and instructional read for me. Superbugs Strike back will appeal to both young and old(er).

I like that the author strongly emphasizes the wise use of antibiotics and frequent washing of the hands. She advises that frequent and correct hand washing makes antibacterial soaps unnecessary. Finally Goldsmith suggests handling foods carefully, (Ever watch those cooking shows?) and when possible choosing food products not grown with antibiotics. Not an easy thing to do.

Despite a litany of grim facts, Ms. Goldsmith does offer the reader some hope of better times to come. She notes that gonorrhea and syphilis can be greatly reduced by abstinence and condoms. Recently there's been a resurgence of interest in bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. These phages have been used in European Georgia for years and are potentially a safe antibiotic for the future. Researches continually look for new sources of antibiotics in the soil or fungi. Scientists are studying peptides, chemicals that perform functions in people and animals, to learn about their antibacterial properties. Even a natural chemical found in Komodo dragon saliva has killed MRSA and E.coli 0157:H7.

5.0 out of 5 stars Timely and provocative, September 9, 2009

By 

Patricia Newman (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Superbugs Strike Back: When Antibiotics Fail (Discovery!) (Library Binding)

Connie Goldsmith tackles the tough subject of antiobiotic-resistant infections in this colorful, photo-illustrated book for tweens. Goldsmith's prose is engaging and relevant to today's readers as she describes these new superbugs and how scientists are waging war against them. A must-read for upper-elementary and middle-school students who have an interest in biology.