Cells at work!

Picture a courier who never stops moving through the body's busy network of blood vessels, facing one illness after another. Her journey takes her past many colleagues, each with a different job in the fight to keep the body running. A quiet, enigmatic white blood cell, a fierce and hot-headed killer T cell, a bookish neuron, and some adorable platelets all play their parts, and their cooperation is what keeps the body healthy.

The manga was created by Akane Shimizu in Japan, where it was serialized under the title Hataraku Saibou. It was later adapted into an anime series. Its episodes mix comedy with straightforward explanations of how the immune system responds to infections and injuries, so the story introduces its science in a playful way.

The book suits teen and adult readers who enjoy comics and want an accessible introduction to human biology. Its humor and cast of personified cells also appeal to readers who usually pick up manga or anime.