• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 6

Hold onto your lunches — author Jeff Szpirglas is ready to talk about the scientific facts behind our disgusting world. From mucus to vomit, from farts to phlegm, nothing is off limits. It’s not always pretty, but it sure is fascinating. Find out why we need scabs, how spit keeps our teeth clean and why pus is a Perfectly Understandable Secretion. With his wicked sense of humor, Szpirglas explores the topics that we find revolting — and kids find irresistible—and uncovers a whole lot of amazing science along the way. Chapters include Sickening Skin, Healing Horror Stories, Spectacular Stenches, Things that Ooze, and Foul Fossils. Irreverent illustrations add bold visual verve to the "engrossing" text. Gross Universe will keep young audiences laughing and learning as they uncover the science behind some of life’s more odious occurrences.

 

 

JEFF SZPIRGLAS is the author of multiple books in the Countdown to Danger series. In addition to his choose-your-own-path titles, Jeff has written award-nominated non-fiction books and several terrifying novels and horror collections for middle-grade readers, including Tales from the Fringes of Fear and Tales from Beyond the Brain. With his wife, Danielle Saint-Onge, he is the co-author of the Orca Echoes books X Marks the Spot!, Something's Fishy and Messy Miranda. He's worked at CTV Television and was an editor at Chirp, chickaDEE and Owl magazines. He has twin children, two cats (the cats are not twins) and one dog. In his spare time, he teaches elementary school. He lives in Kitchener, Ontario. Visit him online at www.jeffszpirglas.com.

 

Jeff Szpirglas' profile page

MICHAEL CHO is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design and has illustrated several children’s books including Media Madness: An Insider Guide to Media. He lives in Toronto.

Michael Cho's profile page

• Commended, YALSA, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
• Commended, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Our Choice Starred Selection
• Short-listed, Independent Publishers' Award, Juvenile and YA Non-fiction Category
• Commended, Resource Links, Best of the Year
• Short-listed, Canadian Science Writers' Association, Science in Society Award

You are sure to get a response when you share the strange, but true, facts presented in such a visually appealing way.

Brandon This Week

Szipirglas hooks his readers with the titles but delivers fine content.

The Manitoba Middle Years Association Journal

Every librarian could use a copy of Jeff Szpirglas’s Gross Universe: Your Guide to All Disgusting Things Under the Sun (Maple Tree, 2006) to wow the after-school crowd.

School Library Journal

This book will be irresistible to the very same middle schoolers who regularly resist science…I highly recommend it.

National Science Teachers Association

Gross Universe is sure to elicit a response! …fans of weird and offbeat facts will find this book irresistible. Highly recommended.

CM Magazine: Canadian Review of Materials

The book is as informative as it is fun, thanks to OWL magazine alumni Jeff Szpirglas and Michael Cho, who have taken pains never to let raunchiness slip into mere sensationalism. For a book in which exploding fungi is easily the tamest thing discussed, that’s saying something.

Quill & Quire

Szpirglas clearly gets the a kick out of terror – and wants to get his readers excited about it too. From ghosts to superstition to mythological monsters, Szpirglas covers a wide range of scary topics but offers up a host of fascinating facts and fun info.

Today’s Parent

Jeff Szpirglas’ humorous and witty treatment of the subject matter delivers a delectable and thoroughly disgusting feast for those who delight in the truly repulsive.

Canadian Children’s Book News

Szpirglas proves that gross facts are cool, and…convince kids who think science is boring to take another look.

School Library Journal

Fascinating and educational.

HI-RISE Community Newspaper

At a certain age, children (and some adults, too) love gross and disgusting facts about their bodies, as well as about nature. This book satisfies their curiosity.

Science Books & Films (SB&F)

The information is intelligently – and interestingly – imparted and Michael Cho’s colorful and quirky illustrations add just the right touch. A terrific addition to your little gross-out’s holiday haul.

January Magazine

…a book that underneath its brash and effluvia-philic nature demonstrates a real fascination with the natural world…reality-comic style illustrations harmonize perfectly with the text’s tone…Reluctant readers will flock to this like flies…

The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

[Gross Universe] will entice readers to delve into their favorite foul and fascinating facts…broad comic-strip illustrations throughout provide lighthearted visual context and appeal for those who delight in the disgusting.

Kirkus Reviews

Even the most reluctant readers will devour this fun and fascinating look at all that is disgusting and gross in the world around us…Cho’s illustrations keep the mood cheeky and fun.

BC Parent

[Szpirglas] takes information usually encountered in Biology 101 and presents it in a fashion that will grab the attention of readers 8 and up. But behind the jokes there is good science, clearly explained.

City Parent

This delightfully illustrated book is a treasure trove of information…a ‘must have’…

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