Customer Reviews

Wiggling Worms at Work (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very interesting. I learned a lot of things I didn't know about worms, like that the thick part that is sometimes on their bodies is a cocoon for their babies, or that they have little legs on each segment of their body. At the back of the book there were really great activities too, showing how worms help dirt. It enthralled me and I'm an adult :)

My 5yr old just loves worms and is always saving them. This was a great book to show him what they do when they are underground. He loved the book and learning about his "wormy" friends.

Didn't like the artwork at all (kids were bored by the pictures). Short book. Most appropriate for 2 year olds. Wouldn't recommend for children over 2.

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.