Why Do Most Plants Need Soil?

November 1, 2015

Gr 1-3-Overlap and duplication among titles mar this set. What's Soil Made Of? provides an overview of organic components, rock weathering, animals living in soil, and different types. Animals focuses on excretion and decomposing bodies and mentions how earthworms and larger animals loosen soil. Plants mentions vegetation that grows without soil but concentrates on how most receive nutrients through roots. Is All Soil the Same? notes variations such as clay, volcanic soil, and peat. Dirt or Soil focuses on a distinction in terminology that could be explained in a couple of sentences. Curiously, none of these offerings includes basic terminology such as topsoil or humus. There are many photos here, some of which appear in more than one volume, and the selections all conclude with an activity suggestion. Stand-alone options such as Steve Tomecek's Dirt (National Geographic, 2007) cover most of the material spread through this series. VERDICT Collections in need of more resources about soil may want to add What's Soil Made Of? but won't need to invest in the entire series.

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2015
Grades 1-3 Down & Dirty is the perfect name for a series that will have kids wanting to head outside and see some of the interesting points the books make about soilwhat it is, how it's formed, what it's good for. Why Do Plants Need Soil? details the nutrients plants get from the earth that allows them to grow. The books are neatly laid out, with simple text captioning the many color photographs. A good gambit is used to get kids to turn pages: each spread ends with a question. All of the books end with a science-lab feature that offers simple experiments for budding scientists. Full of useful information, this series makes the most ordinary of substances fascinating.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)