Product Description

Deep underground and on the surface, worms are hard at work! Worms work like little plows, burrowing through soil by swallowing it. As they make their way through the dirt, worms loosen the soil so roots can spread and grow. Worms eat the bits of leaves and plants mixed with the dirt and leave behind castings that feed the plants. Find out how worms help us as they wiggle their way underground.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2189891 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-01
• Released on: 2003-12-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Library Binding
• 40 pages

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3--This is a great book marred by a few unclear pictures. The well-organized text explains how worms improve the quality of soil and covers the basics about the animal's body structure, movement, diet, and reproduction. The writing is clear and engaging; in one instance, Pfeffer compares the segments on a worm's body to "the coils on a Slinky toy." Although the collage artwork is visually appealing, some of the images are a bit confusing. In one illustration accompanying the explanation of how a worm tunnels, the creature looks as if it has been chopped in two or torn up. In another, it looks as if it is decomposing. The book ends with suggestions for examining a worm in the field and a science-fair-type project using castings. Better choices include Kevin Holmes's Earthworms (Bridgestone, 1998), Michael Elsohn Ross's Wormology (Carolrhoda, 1996), and Bobbie Kalman's Squirmy Wormy Composters (Crabtree, 1992; o.p.).--Jean Lowery, Bishop Woods Elementary School, New Haven, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
K-Gr. 3. From the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series, this book provides a good introduction to a familiar animal: the earthworm. Pfeffer discusses the worm's habits, anatomy, locomotion, food, and life cycles, as well as explaining the importance of castings and tunneling in maintaining soil richness, moisture, and aeration. The final two pages encourage children to explore earthworms on their own by closely observing a worm and a tunnel entrance and by planting seeds in ordinary soil and in soil enriched with worm castings. Though children may need to read or hear the text more than once to absorb all the information presented, the book offers a solid, interesting introduction to the subject. Jenkins' distinctive cut-paper collages illustrate the text with clarity and style. A good title for backyard scientists and a fine addition to primary-grade units on the subject. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Wendy Pfeffer devotes her time to writing and conducting workshops on creative writing. Her other books include the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science books From Tadpole to Frog and Sounds All Around, both illustrated by Holly Keller, and Dolphin Talk, illustrated by Helen K. Davie. Ms. Pfeffer lives in Pennington, New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

Excellent book and series
As a mother, teacher, and naturalist, I have been very impressed with this book (as well as the other Let's-Read-and-Find-Out series). It is incredible how so much information is packed into a book for kids and is also full of colorful artwork engaging to the eye. This book about worms covers how worms help the earth, how they eat, make waste, reproduce (tastefully written of course), where they go in the winter, why you find them out when it's raining, how they sense things around them, how their bodies are designed to help them move, all the while explaining things with proper terms, yet simple to understand. This book, as well as the others in the series, has an activity or two in the back of the book for hands-on learning. Excellent resource for any nature/science library.

Great Introduction for Kids
Children will learn that worms have value beyond fishing and food for birds with Wiggling Worms at Work. The illustration is beautiful but not quite as engaging for younger children as other books in the Let's Read and Find Out Science series.

It begins by piquing a child's interest in what is going on underground all the time. The images do open a child's imagination as to what goes on beneath the surface of the ground.

Vocabulary children will learn include:

1. gizzard
2. crop
3. castings
4. segment
5. fungi
6. midden
7. burrow

While done tastefully, the page that focuses on the reproduction cycle of a worm may be a bit too much for the 3 to 6 year old range (and I realize that this book is geared more for ages 5 to 9) so there is some overlap and a challenge in providing enough details for an older child's understanding.

Page 22 states:

"In spring, before the weather warms, worms wiggle to the surface to mate. Worms are different from most other animals. Each worm is both male and female. but each one still needs a mate. After mating each worm crawls back into its burrow."

The following pages continue with a detailed and very informative description of the cocoon process and the development of the wormlets.

For budding scientists there are a few "experiment" ideas in the rear of the book.

Earthworms-Workers
Another great picture book for younger children to understand the soil beneath the grass line, that they cannot see. The activity that takes place there is amazing to them.