Dirt: Jump Into Science
Grade 1-3-Sprightly illustrations featuring a mole sporting a cheerful wardrobe of play clothes brighten a straightforward text about the formation and importance of soil. Brief chapters explain what it's made of, what lives in it, and its layers and uses. The art is similar in style to that in Ellen J. Prager's Sand (National Geographic, 2000), also illustrated by Woodman. Each spread is surrounded by an earthy-brown border, and the watercolor pictures clarify the scientific concepts. Lighthearted touches such as a frog holding an umbrella and a mole joyfully tossing fall leaves appear throughout. Scientific accuracy and clarity of writing predominate, with one possible exception-soil layers are most frequently formed from the top down by water passing through rather than by layering from the bottom up, as indicated in the text. A quick, pleasant introduction to earth science.Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.