School Library Journal Review for Down & Dirty: The Secrets of Soil

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.