Open Wide, Look Inside

Recently I wrote a thematic book list on spring life that focused on eggs and life cycles. Marilyn Singer was kind enough to drop by and leave a comment. When I learned she had a new book out entitled Eggs, I ran right out and got one.

Eggs, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Emma Stevenson, is a gorgeous look at these extraordinary vehicles of early life. The book begins:

IT’S A QUIET CRIB.
It’s a bobbing boat.
It’s a private pond.
It’s a room with no view.
It’s walls to break through.
It’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
It’s an egg.

It goes on to discuss how all animals need to make more of their own kinds, and that while some animals give birth to live young, many animals lay eggs instead. Eggs are described as special worlds that provide everything a developing embryo needs to grow, from food and drink to oxygen. But embryos need more than this to survive. They need a hospitable climate, meaning they must not freeze of overheat. Singer goes on to describe the texture, shape, size and color of eggs. Readers learn about how many eggs different species lay, how they’re protected by parents, nests, or both, and how they hatch. Emma Stevenson makes her debut as a picture book illustrator with this book and it is a beautiful first effort. The gauche paintings are finely detailed and offer a visual treat to accompany the text.

The book ends with a extensive series of notes, including information on protecting eggs, a glossary, source notes and wildlife organizations. A comprehensive index is also included.

I learned several new facts about eggs while reading this book. Did you know that …

• Bird eggshells are always hard, but their texture varies? Some eggs feel soapy, while some are powdery.
• A flying fish’s eggs have long threads to catch on to seaweed so they won’t float into dangerous waters?
• A termite queen may lay as many as a billion eggs in her lifetime?

Overall, this is an informative and thoroughly engaging book. I highly recommend it.

Book: Eggs
Author: Marilyn Singer
Illustrator: Emma Stevenson
Publisher: Holiday House
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: 3-8
ISBN: 978-0-8234-1727-8
Source of Book: Personal copy purchased from a local independent bookstore.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

As a child who lived in the sandbox, played in the mud, dug for worms and other creatures, I find books about this topic appealing. The back cover of the book begins with the words, “Muck around in the dirt!” Yes, this is the book for me! As for the rest of the world, how can anyone not like a book in which the table of contents opens with You and Dirt?

The Dirt on Dirt, by Paulette Bourgeois, is an interesting mix of information and activities (labeled FUN with Dirt). In the categories of You and Dirt, Dirt Matters, Buried!, Building with Dirt, and Dirt for Gardening, readers learn everything under the sun about dirt. Here are a few interesting facts.

Some animals, like elephants and pigs, wallow in mud to get rid of ticks and fleas. The dried mud then helps protect the animals from the heat of the sun.

There are more than a million dust mites in an average bed. They don’t eat dust, but rather flakes of skin. Since we shed skin flakes every minute, they never go hungry!

It can take from 100 to 10,000 years to make 2 cm (0.8 inches) of good topsoil from crushed rock.

In 1974, archaeologists uncovered 7,000 life-sized, clay soldiers while digging on a peasant’s farm near the city of Xi’an.

Earthworms turn rotting plants and animals into fertilizer and create spaces for air and water to flow through the soil.

Using vivid photographs and inviting illustrations, this text captures the imagination of readers. My seven year old son was enamored of the section on building with dirt, which looks closely at the world that lies beneath our feet and the animals who inhabit it. There is a wonderful true or false quiz that asks readers to test their knowledge of earthworms. The book also contains a glossary and extensive index.

Throughout the text readers are encouraged to try activities related to dirt science. They can experiment to see how soap and detergents work, bake a mud cake, make the world’s greatest dirt (from a homemade composting box), make a dirt shake to see what’s in dirt, learn about erosion, and more. On the Kids Can Press web site you can download a free activity.

I love just about about everything about this book, save for one thing. On the back cover of the book, is the sentence, “Earth, mud, grime, soil–whatever you call it, dirt is everywhere, even where you don’t expect it.” The scientist in me really bristles at the use of the word dirt, and I am disappointed that the word soil wasn’t used more often. I know this is picky, and that for some of you, this is simply a matter of semantics. However, I work very closely with teachers and kids in classrooms to define and study soil. Calling it dirt is akin to calling insects bugs.

Despite this one tiny complaint about the use of the word dirt instead of soil, I found this book to be extremely entertaining and informative. I highly recommend it.

Book: The Dirt on Dirt
Author: Paulette Bourgeois
Illustrator: Martha Newbigging
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 48 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN: 978-1554531011
Source of Book: Copy received from Raab Associates, Inc.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

For those of you interested in digging around for some more info on dirt (soil!), here are some terrific sites to get you started.

• Science of Gardening: The Dirt on Dirt
• The Dirt on Soil
• The Great Plant Escape - Case #2: Soiled Again!
• The Adventures of Herman the Worm