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A Shot in the Arm!: Big Ideas that Changed the World #3

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( 280,978 ratings, 13,807 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
A Shot in the Arm! by Don Brown is a graphic novel that explores the history of vaccines, tracing humanity's battle against infectious diseases from smallpox to COVID-19. The book highlights key scientific discoveries, the functioning of the immune system, and the legacy of pioneers like Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Edward Jenner. It offers an accessible and timely look at how vaccines have shaped public health worldwide.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for children and young readers interested in history, science, and public health, especially those who enjoy graphic novels that blend education and storytelling. Suitable for educational settings and young readers seeking a deeper understanding of vaccines and their impact.

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"A history of vaccines includes COVID-19 research"--Cover.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Award-winning author and illustrator Don Brown explores the history of vaccines from smallpox to COVID-19 in this installment of the Big Ideas That Changed the World graphic novel series.

A Shot in the Arm! explores the history of vaccinations and the struggle to protect people from infectious diseases, from smallpox—perhaps humankind’s greatest affliction to date—to the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlighting deadly diseases such as measles, polio, rabies, cholera, and influenza, Brown tackles the science behind how our immune systems work, the discovery of bacteria, the anti-vaccination movement, and major achievements from Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who popularized inoculation in England, and from scientists like Louis Pasteur, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, and Edward Jenner, the "father of immunology."

Timely and fascinating, A Shot in the Arm! is a reminder of vaccines’ contributions to public health so far, as well as the millions of lives they can still save.

Big Ideas That Changed the World is a graphic novel series that celebrates the hard-won succession of ideas that ultimately changed the world. Humor, drama, and art unite to tell the story of events, discoveries, and ingenuity over time that led humans to come up with a big idea and then make it come true.

Read them all!

Rocket to the Moon!
Machines That Think!
A Shot in the Arm!
We the People!
All Charged Up!

Series: BIG IDEAS That Changed the World

View all
  • On Sale
    20% off
    All Charged Up!
    Award-winning author-illustrator Don Brown explores the history of electricity in this installment of the Big Ideas That Changed the World series. In 600 BCE, the Greek mathematician Thales observed a seemingly strange phenomenon: amber, when rubbed with a cloth, had the ability to attract lightweight objects like feathers, straw, and leaves. He had unknowingly discovered an electric charge. His experiments...
    Hardback
    $2400
    Usually:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • It's About Time!
    Award-winning author-illustrator Don Brown explores the science of time in It’s About Time!, part of the Big Ideas That Changed the World graphic novel series. In It’s About Time!, narrator Albert Einstein takes kids through time—literally. The book explores the measurement of time, from the stone circles and giant pyramids of ancient cultures to hourglasses and sundials, early timepieces and...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Keep It Clean!
    This entertaining graphic novel from award winner Dan Brown will get kids talking, since it's all about the history of dealing with poop, pee, and dirty hands. Part of the Big Ideas That Changed the World graphic novel series, this full-colour book is appropriate for the classroom and includes a timeline, endnotes, and a bibliography. In 1895, an engineer named...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Machines That Think!
    Award-winning author/illustrator Don Brown explores computers and technology in this instalment of the Big Ideas That Changed the World graphic novel series. Machines That Think! explores machines from ancient history to today that perform a multitude of tasks, from making mind-numbing calculations to working on assembly lines to guiding spaceships to the moon. It includes fascinating looks at the world’s...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • We the People!
    Award-winning author Don Brown explores the history of democracy in the United States in this installment of the Big Ideas That Changed the World series. The Greek word democracy comes from demos (people) and kratos (rule)—meaning “the people hold power.” In this timely graphic novel, acclaimed author-illustrator Don Brown explores the history of democracy—from civilization’s beginnings as hunter-gatherers to the...
    Hardback
    $4500
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • A Shot in the Arm!: Big Ideas that Changed the World #3
    Award-winning author and illustrator Don Brown explores the history of vaccines from smallpox to COVID-19 in this installment of the Big Ideas That Changed the World graphic novel series. A Shot in the Arm! explores the history of vaccinations and the struggle to protect people from infectious diseases, from smallpox—perhaps humankind’s greatest affliction to date—to the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlighting deadly...
    Hardback
    Sold Out

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised by The New York Times for its timely and engaging storytelling, this graphic novel has earned starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and School Library Journal. Critics note its thorough research, vivid depiction of scientific history, and compelling presentation as essential reading for understanding vaccines' critical role.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781419750014

Publisher: Abrams

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 29 April 2021

Country: United States

Imprint: Amulet Books

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 148.0mm

Height: 209.0mm

Weight: 480g

Pages: 144

About the Author

Don Brown is the award-winning author and illustrator of many nonfiction graphic novels and picture books. His many books, including The Great American Dust Bowl, 83 Days in Mariupol, and Fever Year: The Killer Flu of 1918, have been called “masterful” and “a must for youth graphic collections.” Brown has received an Eisner nomination, two Sibert Honors, a Horn Book Best Book honor, a YALSA award, and multiple starred reviews, among other awards and notices. He lives in Hudson Valley, New York, with his family.

Also by Don Brown

View all
  • On Sale
    20% off
    All Charged Up!
    Award-winning author-illustrator Don Brown explores the history of electricity in this installment of the Big Ideas That Changed the World series. In 600 BCE, the Greek mathematician Thales observed a seemingly strange phenomenon: amber, when rubbed with a cloth, had the ability to attract lightweight objects like feathers, straw, and leaves. He had unknowingly discovered an electric charge. His experiments...
    Hardback
    $2400
    Usually:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • It's About Time!
    Award-winning author-illustrator Don Brown explores the science of time in It’s About Time!, part of the Big Ideas That Changed the World graphic novel series. In It’s About Time!, narrator Albert Einstein takes kids through time—literally. The book explores the measurement of time, from the stone circles and giant pyramids of ancient cultures to hourglasses and sundials, early timepieces and...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Keep It Clean!
    This entertaining graphic novel from award winner Dan Brown will get kids talking, since it's all about the history of dealing with poop, pee, and dirty hands. Part of the Big Ideas That Changed the World graphic novel series, this full-colour book is appropriate for the classroom and includes a timeline, endnotes, and a bibliography. In 1895, an engineer named...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Machines That Think!
    Award-winning author/illustrator Don Brown explores computers and technology in this instalment of the Big Ideas That Changed the World graphic novel series. Machines That Think! explores machines from ancient history to today that perform a multitude of tasks, from making mind-numbing calculations to working on assembly lines to guiding spaceships to the moon. It includes fascinating looks at the world’s...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Rocket to the Moon!
    Award-winning author/illustrator Don Brown explores the history of rocket building in this instalment of the Big Ideas That Changed the World graphic novel series. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong said those iconic words when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. But it wasn’t just one man who got...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Fire of the Raging Dragon
    In the very near future, China, now the world’s largest industrial producer and consumer of Mideast Oil, passes a law that all new cars manufactured in that nation will be operated on natural gas. Beneath the floor of the South China Sea, around the contested Spratly Islands, billions of gallons of natural gas wait to be mined. But at the...
    Paperback
    $5400
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  • Storming the Black Ice
    When British geologists discover the world's largest oil reserves under the desolate, icy tundra of Antarctica, Britain and Chile form a top-secret alliance for control of petroleum resources that will rival the economic power of OPEC. But when their discovery is uncovered by an Argentinean intelligence officer, a surprise attack against a secret British outpost in Antarctica triggers a war....
    Paperback
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  • 83 Days in Mariupol: A War Diary
    A young adult graphic novel that captures the complexities of the war in Ukraine, focusing on the siege of Mariupol (Feb ’22 – May ’22) and the brave people who stayed to defend their city against Russian forces, as well as the resulting effects on global politics. A city ruined. In once quiet residential streets, two armies battle, driving people...
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  • We the People!
    Award-winning author Don Brown explores the history of democracy in the United States in this installment of the Big Ideas That Changed the World series. The Greek word democracy comes from demos (people) and kratos (rule)—meaning “the people hold power.” In this timely graphic novel, acclaimed author-illustrator Don Brown explores the history of democracy—from civilization’s beginnings as hunter-gatherers to the...
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