Ailsa Wild

Briony Barr

An illustrated science-history graphic novel exploring parallel experiences during WWI. The story takes place on two different physical scales - the macro-scale, from the point of view of a Victorian nurse supporting troops in the trenches of the Western Front - and simultaneously on the micro-level, from the point of view of the gut microbes which fight to keep her body alive when she contracts dysentery. This fictional story is based on accurate scientific and historical facts, in consultation with academic experts from Australia, France, UK and the USA.

A Tale on Two Scales

The Invisible War

Aviva Reed

Gregory Crocetti

This is a story about trees and fungi connected through a ‘wood wide web’ – told by one tiny fungal spore. A little fungus meets a baby cacao tree and they learn to feed each other. They cooperate with a forest of plants and a metropolis of microbes in the soil. But when drought strikes can they work together to survive? The fourth book in the Small Friends Books series, this science-adventure story explores the Earth-shaping partnerships between plants, fungi and bacteria.

How Fungi Shape the Earth

The Forest in the Tree

With her home under threat from a warming ocean, Zobi, a brave rhizobia bacterium, teams up with a family of slow but steady Zoox (zooxanthellae). As the coral bleaches, everyone begins to starve... Can Zobi and the Zoox work together to save the day? This beautifully illustrated science-adventure story, set on the Great Barrier Reef, was originally published in 2015, but has been extensively re-written and revised to delight and captivate primary school-aged readers. Zobi and the Zoox: A Story of Coral Bleaching is the first in the new Small Friends Books series – Stories of Partnership and Cooperation in Nature.

A Story of Coral Bleaching

Zobi and the Zoox

S. Patricia Stock

This is a story about tiny creatures that live in the darkness of the soil. When a tree cries out in pain, some unexpected heroes come to the rescue. Nema and her gang of young nematodes (tiny worms) embark on a dangerous journey underground. The Xenos, a group of wise but deadly bacteria, hitch a ride. The story of how they help the tree is full of action, life-or-death challenges and microscopic warfare. It is a story of co-operation and ancient partnership, about events happening all over the Earth, in the hidden worlds beneath our feet.

Briony Barr

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