Itch!: Everything You Didn't Want to Know About What Makes You Scratch

by Anita Sanchez, Gilbert Ford (Illustrator)

Overview

Everybody gets itchy, and every kid will love this title that scratches the itch to know more and about the history, anatomy, botany, biology behind it. Perfect for fans of Grossology books looking for something more substantive and dynamic. 

You can feel it coming on—that terrible, tortuous ITCH. As irritating as an itch is, it is also your body’s way of sending you a message you can’t miss, like you’ve brushed up against poison ivy or lice have taken up residence in your hair. None of which you’d know without that telltale itch!

And there are so many things that make us itch—from fungus to fleas, mosquitoes to nettles, poison ivy to tarantulas! 

Combining history, anatomy, laugh-out-loud illustrations, and even tips to avoid—and soothe—the itch, Anita Sanchez and Gilbert Ford take readers on an intriguing (and sometimes disgusting) look into what makes you scratch.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544811010
Publisher:	HMH Books
Publication date:	03/13/2018
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	638,975
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Anita Sanchez  is fascinated by plants that no one loves. Her books include Leaflets Three: The Story of Poison Ivy and Karl, Get Out of the Garden! Carolus Linnaeus and the Naming of Everything. 

Gilbert Ford ’s illustrations have appeared in magazines, newspapers, toys, advertisements, and books, including Mr. Ferris and His Wheel.

Editorial Reviews

"A fun, intriguing, and accessible mix of anatomy and history, with a healthy dose of gross."—Kirkus, STARRED review

"There’s much here to attract readers in search of the gross or unsettling."-School Library Journal

"Factual and surprisingly fun, here’s a very readable book about a common experience."—Booklist, STARRED review

From the Publisher

01/01/2018
Gr 3–5—There's much here to attract readers in search of the gross or unsettling: mosquito saliva injected under the skin to keep the blood flowing, flesh-eating fungus, bedbugs infesting the folds and seams of a quilt. While students might approach the book for casual reference or brief readings, it does lack a unifying narrative or appealing visuals. Readers will open with an introduction to the skin and immune system and then encounter a new class of irritant with each chapter—lice, fleas, plants, fungus, etc. Informative descriptions outline the mechanism of common itchy irritants, including the tiny stinging spines (glochids) that cover the prickly pear cactus or the irritating setae that tarantulas rip from their hind legs and fling at potential predators. Many remedies are offered, particularly traditional, folk, or nontoxic solutions, such as using fresh cucumber to soothe the irritation from stinging nettle or massaging a dog with coconut oil for treatment of flea bites. Ford's illustrations are colorful and lighthearted but add little to the text, particularly in exposition of scientific research. There are no photographs. The text includes a glossary and index, as well as a significant bibliography and list of helpful websites, in addition to a handful of specific source notes. VERDICT Despite being an adequate reference source on an off-beat subject, this is nonetheless a secondary purchase.—Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA

School Library Journal

★ 2017-12-03
That irritating itch that cannot be scratched away is an experience just about everybody can relate to, and here are the entertaining and informative explanations of what's behind those itches.There are approximately 500 sweat glands, 20 blood vessels, and 1,000 nerve endings in 1 square inch of skin, and there's lots of flora and fauna to irritate that sensitive epidermis. In an engaging, substantive text and comical color illustrations, Sanchez and Ford reveal the assorted plants and creepy crawlies that make us itch and scratch. The tiny critters who irritate, such as bedbugs, fleas, lice, and mosquitoes, all share the common goal of sucking our blood. If you are an unfortunate recipient of skunk spray, the itch it gives you may be worse than the smell. You should handle caterpillars and tarantulas with care. When you're strolling through the great outdoors, beware of poison ivy, oak, and sumac, nettles, prickly pears, and burrs. There's great advice on how to soothe your itches and nontoxic alternatives for keeping away the sources. Itching isn't necessarily a bad thing; a good scratch can alert us that something's wrong, and the "hygiene hypothesis" posits that irritating things may actually make us healthier. Humans depicted in Ford's colorful cartoons are of varying skin tones; the vibe for the depictions of such pests as lice and fleas is humorous rather than icky, offering a nice balance to the text.A fun, intriguing, and accessible mix of anatomy and history, with a healthy dose of gross. (glossary, notes, bibliography, websites, index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews

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