Children's Books

Books recommended for children (available in Canada)

Under 8 years of age:

Mobi vs. The Shield: Community Immunity Saves the Day (by Immunization Partnership [US], 2021)
William! Won’t You Wash Your Hands? (Canadian Institute of Child Health).
This is a valuable resource for early childhood educators, caregivers and parents to teach children how and when to wash their hands. It includes a resource booklet with an assortment of activities, songs and games that all teach handwashing.
A Day with a Doctor (by Jan Kottke, Welcome Books, Grolier Publishing, 2000)
A Trip to the Doctor (by Margot Linn, Harper & Row Publishers, 1988)
Arthur’s Chicken Pox (by Marc Brown, Little Brown and Company, 1996)
The Berenstain Bears Go To the Doctor (by Stan and Jan Berenstain, Random House, 1981)
Body Buddies Say... “Wash Your Hands!” (by Leeann Wenkman, Sunrise Publications, 1999)
Clean and Healthy (by Angela Royston, Heinemann Library, 2000)
Germs! Germs! Germs! (by Bobbi Katz and Steve Bjorkman, Scholastic Books, 1996)
Germs Make Me Sick! (by Melvin Berger, in the series of “Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science Books”, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1985)
Going to the Doctor (by Kate Petty and Lisa Kopper, a First Timers book, Aladdin Books Ltd., 1987)
Immune System (by Karen Latchana Kenney, Jump! Incorporated, 2017)
Itchy Itchy Chicken Pox (by Grace Maccarone and Betsy Lewin, Cartwheel Books, 1992)
The Magic School Bus Inside Ralphie: A Book about Germs (by Joanna Cole, Scholastic Books, 1995)
Felix & Booboo – Maya Visits Her Doctor: Vaccination (by Dr. Nicole Audet, Dr. Nicole Publishing, 2018)
No Measles, No Mumps for Me (by Paul Showers, in the series of “Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science Books”, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1980)
Vaccines Explained (by Ohemaa Boahemaa, 2021) (available in multiple languages)
Wash Your Hands! (by Tony Ross, Kane/Miller, 2006)
What to Expect When You Go to the Doctor (by Heidi Murkoff, HarperCollins Publishers, 2000)
What Happens When You Catch a Cold? (by Joy Richardson, Gareth Stevens Publishing, 1986)

Over 8 years of age:

A True Book: Flu (by Ann O. Squire and Jane Sieving Pelkki, Scholastic Canada, 2016)
Achoo! The Most Interesting Book You’ll Ever Read About Germs (by Trudee Romanek, Kids Can Press, 2003)
All About Vaccines (by Bridget Gongol, Dinosaur Learning Series, 2014)
Bill Nye, the Science Guy’s Great Big Book of Tiny Germs (Bill Nye, Disney-Hyperion, 2005)
Carnival of Contagion (graphic novel by Judy Diamond, Bob Hall, and John West, University of Nebraska Press, 2017)
Choosing Health (by Alan Collinson, in the Facing the Future series, Steck-Vaughn Library, 1991)
Dear Canada: To Stand on My Own: The Polio Epidemic Diary of Noreen Robertson, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 1937 (by Barbara Haworth-Attard, Scholastic Canada, 2010)
Everything You Need to Know About: Measles and Rubella (by Trisha Hawkins, The Need to Know Library, The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2001)
Germ Killers: Fighting Disease (by Sally Morgan, Science at the Edge series, Reed Educational & Professional Publishing, 2002)
Immunity Warriors (digital comic, by CANImmunize, 2017)
Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine (graphic novel by Katherine Krohn, Capstone, 2006)
Microbiology: It’s a Small World (by Simon Basher and Dan Green, Kingfisher, 2015)
The Miracle of Immunity (by William Donnellan, from the “Story of Science” series by Benchmark Books, 2003)
My Health: Vaccinations (by Alvin Silverstein and Virginia Silverstein, Franklin Watts, 2002)
My Health: What Are Germs? (by Laura Silverstein-Nunn, Alvin Silverstein, and Virginia Silverstein, Franklin Watts, 2003)
Outbreak: Disease Detectives at Work (by Mark Friedlander Jr., Lerner Publications, 2003)
Sara, Lily and Aaron: Vaccine (by Judy Konkoly, CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2010)
The Shots Book: A Little Brother’s Superhero Tale (by Ethan Posard, 2015)
Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio (by Peg Kehret, Albert Whitman, 2006)
What Are Germs? (by Jim Ollhoff, ABDO Publishing Company, 2010)
You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Vaccinations! (by Anne Rooney, Turtleback, 2015)

List prepared by Ottawa Public Health and Immunize Canada