Anand, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Wall Street Journal, has written the story of one father's race against time to found a business that would cure his sick children. John and Aileen Crowley were on top of the world. With a brand-new Harvard Business School degree, three beautiful children, a new house, and a great job, they thought that they had just entered the best years of life. Then doctors diagnosed their two youngest children with Pompe disease, a degenerative disease so rare that no company had bothered spending the money needed to sponsor research.

Stewart has written more than 70 science books for young people. A Massachusetts freelance, she says this book, aimed at 5 to 8 year olds, was definitely a labor of love: "It is my hope that the book's stunning illustrations and clear, simple language will inform young readers and inspire them to take action. Butterflies have lived on Earth for more than 140 million years."

Like all the Complete Idiot's Guides, this paperback is a primer. It explains the basics on bacteria, viruses, and the lesser-known microbes (protozoa, algae, fungi, prions, and the brand-new archaea). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Microbiology concentrates on infectious diseases but also explains other features of the invisible world that governs all life on earth.

Harvard-trained family physician Okie writes, "Carefully limiting your child's 'screen time' is one of the most effective things you can do as a parent to reduce your children's obesity risk. This isn't just speculation. A double-blind, randomized trial by Stanford University researchers found that reducing the amount of time that kids spent weekly watching TV was associated with lower obesity rates." The problem, Okie points out, is serious. "Today's kids may be the first generation of children to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.