Germs Make Me Sick! by Melvin Berger; 1985, 1995, 2015 editions
Germs Make Me Sick! was first published in 1985 in the Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out series by Harper Trophy. The title typeface on the cover is Publicity Gothic, an extrabold display type with rugged outlines that originated at Barnhart Brothers & Spindler in the 1910s. It’s paired with ITC Souvenir for text.
In 1995, a revised edition with new illustrations – again by Marylin Hafner (1925–2008) – came out. Publicity Gothic was replaced with another coarse and heavy (and only slightly younger) typeface, Neuland, first issued by Klingspor in 1923. The current version from 2015 features yet another extrabold typeface on the cover. This time it’s Bango (JCFonts, 2011).
From Elizabeth A. B. Emmert’s review of the 1995 edition:
This book is intended for children ages four to eight and is full of accurate, easy-to-understand information about bacteria and viruses. […] Berger does a fantastic job of including a great deal of basic microbiology and immunity at an interesting and simple level.
Cover of the 1995 edition featuring Neuland and Futura Extra Bold.
Cover of the 2015 edition featuring Bango and Shag Lounge, the latter with contextual alternates.
