Hooray for DNA! How a Bear and a Bug Are a Lot Like Us

Hooray for DNA is both an age-appropriate introduction to DNA and a story about the connection of all living things through our basic biology. The text is rhythmic while also varying enough to make it interesting to read aloud, and the pictures are simple and appealing. The text and illustrations meld well, referring to each other throughout the book.

Pauline Thompson has taken a somewhat playful approach to a serious topic, moving back and forth between information about DNA and the implications of that to similarities between us all. The message is very strong that we are all the same despite any minor apparent differences. The rhyming cadence of the book is definitely present while not so rigid as to make it repetitive as it changes in ways that add surprises throughout. The comparisons that are used are at just the right level. In one part, we have the minor DNA change that determines whether we have brown or blue eyes. In another part, “four coloured lego” is a perfect analogy to the A, C, G and T building blocks of DNA.

The illustrations by Greg Pizzoli are soft and simple enough to allow children to believe that they could draw in this way themselves. As you move through the book, you notice that what you are seeing is a school class of students that are being taught about the subject of DNA. They are often carrying pictures that they appear to have drawn themselves showing the topic of either the page before, making a nice connection between topics, or on the same page. The class is made up of students of a wide variety of backgrounds and are recognizable throughout. There is even a brief colophon which includes information on how the drawings were made (OK, book nerd).

Further information about DNA can be found at the end of the book. The references include websites for a genetics page from the American Museum of Natural History and an article in the kids Britannica. There are also some YouTube videos, two books and an online exercise to find out how similar our DNA is to that of many other plants and animals. Did you know that we share 24% of our DNA with grapes?