What's a Germ, Joseph Lister?: The Medical Mystery That Forever Changed the Way We Heal

by Lori Alexander, Daniel Duncan (Illustrator)

This engrossing, timely, and highly illustrated biography of the father of modern surgery reveals the shocking practices of surgeons before Joseph Lister proved where infections come from. In 1841, a quiet, curious boy who stuttered when nervous committed to becoming a surgeon—a profession then more feared than respected. Through study, persistence, and careful research, Joseph Lister proved that unsanitary conditions contribute to infections. Despite others scoffing at his ideas, Lister slowly changed the way all surgeons work, saving countless lives. Sibert Honor-winner Lori Alexander’s accessible and lively biography of Lister contains fun—and sometimes gory—facts about the history of science and engaging illustrations by Daniel Duncan. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Middle Grade, Biography, Historical, Childrens, Juvenile

144 pages, Hardcover

Published October 10, 2023

About the author

Lori Alexander loves to read and write! She has written picture books like BACKHOE JOE (Harper, 2014) and FAMOUSLY PHOEBE (Sterling, 2017) as well as the FUTURE BABY board book series (Scholastic, 2019). She also writes non-fiction chapter books, such as ALL IN A DROP (2019) and A SPORTING CHANCE (2020), both from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Lori resides in sunny Tucson, Arizona, with her scientist husband and two book loving kids. She runs when it’s cool and swims when it’s hot. Then she gets back to reading and writing.

Visit Lori at www.lorialexanderbooks.com or on Twitter @LoriJAlexander

Reviews

[Matal “The Mischling Princess” Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of “What's a Germ, Joseph Lister?: The Medical Mystery That Forever Changed the Way We Heal” from NetGalley and Clarion Books in exchange for an honest review. However, due to a severe reading lapse I wasn’t able to finish the book in time, so I purchased a Kindle copy in order to read and review this book.

I never knew my great-grandmother, Clara aka “Gibby.” She died just a year before I was born. But I’ll never forget what my momma told me about what she said about hospitals when she was growing up during the late 19th century: “People go to hospitals to die.”

Even during the later 1800s, there were a lot of unsanitary conditions not just in hospitals, but even during home births. Written by Lori Alexander and illustrated by Daniel Duncan, this MG book shows young readers both why and how.

The book begins with a story about an 11-year-old Scottish kid named James Greenlees whose fractured leg poked out through his skin. In 1865, this would have been a death sentence. Luckily, the child met Dr. Joseph Lister, a British surgeon.

Alexander then takes the reader on a journey, beginning with Lister’s early childhood and his fascination with science. She discussed his upbringing and how his desire to help heal sicknesses, illnesses, accidents, and diseases led him to uncover the role of germs in everyday life.

With nearly 50% of all surgery cases ending in death, Lister had a lot to worry about. But, relying on the scientific method, he was able to understand germ theory and inform others about it. The book also discusses how Lister stuttered and how he overcame this by focusing more on his desire to stop unnecessary deaths.

I love how Alexander and Duncan used bubbles throughout the book to include pertinent and interesting information throughout the book. This helped to break up the text and provided a unique opportunity for Alexander to help readers understand how truly great Lister was—both as a man and as a medical professional. Besides learning about Lister, readers are also introduced to many other great personages in medical/scientific history, including Nightingale, Pasteur, Koch, and Fleming, whose goals were similar to Lister’s in eradicating the dreaded “hospital disease.”

Duncan did a brilliant job of illustrating this book, and I love how he was able to incorporate a lot of ethnic diversity in his pictures. Known today as the Father of Modern Surgery, Joseph Lister was an incredible human being. However, Alexander made to sure to incorporate a discussion of women in her text, including the role of Lister’s wife, who became his laboratory assistant.

If there’s a young person who is interested in STEM, I absolutely recommend this book. With 14 chapters, photographs, beautifully illustrated pages, a timeline, glossary, bibliography, and notes, this book is an absolutely perfect way to introduce MG readers to the fascinating history of science.

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to just WHY it is important to wash our hands!!!

A great mini-history of what hospitals and being ill used to be like and how the works of Joseph Lister changed all that and how his revelations saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

This book is not for the squeamish, but it IS a really good read, both for kids AND their parent's and will lead them to books like the excellent read "The Butchering Art:
Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine" by Lindsey Fitzharris [which will the lead the reader, should be they be so inclined, to books about how food, cosmetics and such were really poisons that the Royals and others used during these times as well] and a deeper dive into this world of finding and fighting both the germs that were killing people, but also the Doctors that fought against the treatments tooth and nail [you will just ROLL your eyes at their ridiculousness at the idea of having to wash the filth OFF their hands].

Filled with really good illustrations that will definitely add to the ick factor of the subject matter, this will be a read you will visit again and again as you learn more about just what was making people sick and the man who changed the whole world around all of that.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lori Alexander, Daniel Duncan - Illustrator, and HarperCollins Children's Books/Clarion Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children's biography. This book is a biography of Joseph Lister, a man whose name I had never heard but whose work affects all of our lives. Lister was in medical school in the 1850s, at a time when a hospital stay was far from a guarantee of recovery, with about 1 in 2 patients dying, usually from gangrene. Amputation was a common occurrence, but Lister thought there had to be a better way. He was very active in his learning and practice, following medical advancements from other countries and recreating experiments such as Pasteur's that proved there were germs in the air causing decay. He started using ether (early anesthesia) for his patients after hearing of its success, and soon worked to abolish the germs before a surgery, going so far as to spray the whole operating theater with carbolic acid. He hired nurses trained by Florence Nightingale and traveled to the centennial expo in the US to share his findings there. A fascinating look into history of medicine, and how things we accept as fairly common knowledge were first discovered. Though the topic choice might make this obvious, this is not a book for the squeamish. Illustrated throughout, with various sidebars and extensive back matter.

[Jennifer Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love many things about this well-researched and equally well-written biography of Joseph Lister. First, you see him as a quiet, stuttering child, interested in the natural world. He grows up to be a renowned surgeon and scientist, who by virtue of running experiments, discovers why many surgical patients die after their operations. Germs! Readers will also learn about others who were active in the field, with their own contributions, including Louis Pasteur and Florence Nightingale.

Joseph Lister and his wife, Agnes, changed the world for the better. Children will enjoy finding out just how he did that with many interesting anecdotes such as Queen Victoria's armpit abscess and what happens when you leave a sterile substance covered and uncovered over time. They don't have to be budding scientists to treasure this book, just curious, as children naturally are.

Brava, Lori Alexander for writing a truly accessible and entertaining biography!

[Steven Steiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot to love about this book. First off, I am a huge fan of the art style used to illustrate this. It has a watercolor feel to it and is just overall beautiful and adorable. I was really drawn into Joseph's story starting as a small boy being interested in the wonders of the world and then growing up to be a brilliant scientist. It's very satisfying to me, maybe because I also was interested in science as a little kid - but not in the numbers and figures way - but in the "what is that live thing and how does it live?". So it resonated with me. I know this book is for younger readers, but I'm 52 and I can't recommend it enough - I almost would like to get it in paperback just for the pictures and maybe a copy to give to the children of friends who I can see have that spark of interest in science. I just adored this book and I highly recommend it!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wash your hands!!!!

In recent years, people of all ages cannot hear this enough. Is it redundant? Yes! Does it get annoying to hear? Yes! BUT "What's a Germ, Joseph Lister?" does a phenomenal job at explaining and illustrating the importance of a clean, sterile environment for medical procedure and washing your hands!

***Thank you NetGalley for proving me access to this preview. This review is based on an ARC. ***

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ventured into slightly more familiar territory than did All in a Drop: How Antony van Leeuwenhoek Discovered an Invisible World, but was still fascinating. And gross.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readers will either really enjoy the gory details of early surgery and medicine or not as the book does not shy away from the gruesome history of hospitals. Very well researched and includes source citations listed by chapter in addition to a bibliography.

[Lisa Kizer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and informative read about Joseph Lister and his work in medical. The pictures are mainly cartoons but they still present the idea of what hospitals and health care was like when Lister was learning and practicing.

[Rosite Sony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book. I would recommend it to any kid interested in science or medicine. It really gives a great view of germs and why it's important to wash our hands. To also read about what was making others sick was interesting, it made me more curious.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids (7 & 3) and I listened to this audiobook in the car and really enjoyed learning about Joseph Lister and his research and contributions to modern medicine. Unlike many kid oriented books, I learned a ton and enjoyed the content. Hope this author has more good biographies.

[Curren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the book was interesting, but it used advanced words like “mortality rate” without much context or explanation. I felt like that was a little advanced for the age range of the book. But overall it was interesting and the pictures helped make it fun.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting!

[SandersonLover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for young adults to learn what a germ is and even for younger kids to read it with you (they will have questions)

[PottWab Regional Library]

O

[Bri Weas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative!

[Becky]

Fun, nonfiction - interesting look at some medical history

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An accurate and rather gruesome representation of surgery and hospitals before antiseptic practices studied and promoted by Lister.

[Demoness Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty interesting how they did medical stuff back then and how hygienic prectises were practically non-existent

[Tim Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's nothing wrong by with this book. It just failed to connect.

[GS Dachslove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Narrative biography. Back matter includes glossary and detailed timeline. Compelling, quick read.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous middle grade biography about Joseph Lister who worked in the medical field and discovered that germs were to blame for all of the "hospital diseases" that were killing patients after amputations. The information is written in a way that is very easy to understand and fully explains the background and contemporary culture surrounding the medical field and surgery. For example, in the mid-1800s, surgeons were seen as blue collar workers who were no better than butchers. Some of the first surgeons were actually barbers who were skilled in using instruments to cut hair.

This book offers a lot of insight. Highly recommend! I would suggest for 5th grade and up. There are some graphically illustrated amputated limbs and cadavers that may be too mature for younger readers.

Thanks to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!