2019 Finalist: Middle Grades Science Book

Itch! Everything You Didn't Want to Know About What Makes You Scratch, by Anita Sanchez. Illustrations by Gilbert Ford. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018.

You can feel it coming—that terrible, tormenting itch. An itch can be incredibly irritating, but it also can be your body’s way of sending a message you can’t miss. Because that itch can alert you to the fact that you’ve brushed up against some poison ivy. Or that you’ve encountered some bedbugs you didn’t see coming. It can even mean that 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 can make us itch—from fungus to fleas, mosquitoes to nettles, and 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.