Dirt: The Scoop on Soil (Amazing Science)

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: My kids and niece love this book and I love the hands-on approach it uses. The book begins with a quick experiment that helps the kids visualize what the book will be talking about. It helps kids understand why dirt is so important and explains how bugs and worms help too. The illustrations are wonderful and that is what usually engages children from the get-go. The book would be great for classroom use as well and a good introduction to table of contents, glossary, and index.

Rating:
Summary: Try another title
Review: The approach of this books started out on the right track,by focusing on the parts of soil that can be observed after mixing it with water. But a major drawback of this title is that by oversimplifying, it perpetuates the misconception that plants eat soil, e.g. "Humus is rich with food that plants need to grow..."p.13 "As plants grow they use up the food in humus. Decomposers put more food back into the humus." p.15 "When plants use up the food in topsoil..."p.19 The inserted fun facts are distracting and/or of questionable worth. e.g."Fun fact: Dirt is so interesting that soil scientists study it everyday." I would recommend Dirt by Steve Tomecek in place of this title. It has similar content that connects to kid's experiences with soil and has a more accurate approach to the soil/plant connection. Raymond Bial's A Handful of Dirt is another good title on soil.