The Dirt Book

By David L Harrison; illustrated by Kate Cosgrove

Informational Resources:

Author Information: 

David L. Harrison’s Website:

https://www.davidlharrison.com/

Illustrator Information:

Kate Cosgrove’s Website:

http://k8cosgrove.blogspot.com/    

Activities & Resources:

Activities: 

The Dirt Book discussion guide (Holiday House website):

https://holidayhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/dirtbook-activity-kit-des3.pdf

Dirt

What’s the Dirt on … Dirt: (3:43)

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=if29mjcd5bc&ab_channel=SciShowKids 

Anthill Excavation: (3:15)

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=lFg21x2sj-M&ab_channel=KYLYKaHYT

Sand ant farm time lapse: (4:47) 

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=zgWZzFU5bxo&ab_channel=GreenTimelaps

10 Incredible Facts About Dirt 

https://www.audubon.org/news/10-incredible-facts-about-dirt

A recipe to make Soil:

https://www.earthlearningidea.com/PDF/152_Make_own_soil.pdf

Decomposition

Watch dirt and red wigglers do their job (1:38):

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=3NY-DTD7obE

Decomposition Activities in the classroom:

https://greenteacher.com/turning-rotten-into-right-a-kindergarten-study-of-decomposition

Animals

Animals that burrow and live underground in the dirt: 

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/burrow

Gopher Tortoise Burrow Identification Guide:

https://www.outdooralabama.com/sites/default/files/GT%20vs%20other%20burrows%20Identification%20Guide%20Handout.pdf

MakerSpace Activities: 

Watch dirt do its job! Take a pumpkin and put it in a plastic container with dirt. 

https://www.kellysclassroomonline.com/2021/07/pumpkin-life-cycle.html

Root measuring: Bring different roots from different plants to measure. Measure both length and width.

Soil Filter

https://www.doctordirt.org/teachingresources/soilfilter/

Look through the book and then create a diagram of all of the animals and plants discussed throughout the book (this could be a table project) with pictures from the story. Graph

Bring soil from the ground and place in a bowl. Using a magnifying glass and a small shovel, shovel out and sort through the dirt. List items you find and place in a sorting tray (or ice cube tray).

Discussion Questions:

How would you describe dirt?

What are some objects or living things you have found in dirt? 

On page 6, they list a dirt recipe. What would you put in your dirt recipe?

Do all roots look the same? On page 8, which roots are bigger? 

What are some other names that we call doodlebugs? 

Looking at the Trapdoor Spider on page 12, how would you hunt insects if you were a spider? 

Have you ever seen an earthworm? How do they move? 

Where do you think the dirt goes that the ants move to build their cities? 

List all the animals that you saw in the book that sleep underground.

What other animals are yellow and black like the yellow jacket wasp? 

Have you ever been stung by a wasp? Any other insects? 

Why do you think moles have small eyes? They are actually colorblind. Do you know someone that is colorblind? Instead of seeing red and green, color blindness sees them as the same color.

What is the difference between a toad and a frog? 

List the similarities and differences between toads and frogs.

Where do chipmunks store the nuts they find?

On page 32, which animals share an underground burrow with the gopher tortoise?

What are some other animals that live underground?

What do you think the temperature is underground in the winter and in the summer?

How important do you feel our dirt is? List some examples.

When you think of animals that burrow underground, what are some of the first animals that come to mind or ones that you have seen burrow or dig?

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the reader’s theater for The Dirt Book

Watch the book trailer on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube Channel.

Watch the author's interview on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube Channel.

Watch the illustrator's interview on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube Channel.

Read Alikes: 

Decomposition

Hubbel, Will. Pumpkin Jack. In the course of one year, a jack-o-lantern, discarded after Halloween, decomposes in the backyard and eventually grows new pumpkins from its seeds.(NoveList)

Poetry

Sidman, Joyce. Dark emperor & other poems of the night. A collection of poems that celebrates the wonder, mystery, and danger of the night and describes the many things that hide in the dark. (NoveList)

Animals

Demis, Corrine. Do doodlebugs doodle? Silly questions, the kind kids often ask, are followed by informative answers sure to make every reader eager to learn more about insects. (NoveList)

Fleming, Candance. Honeybee: the busy life of apis mellifera. Describes the life of a typical worker bee, as she emerges from her cell, does different jobs around the hive while growing big enough and strong enough to fly, and flies far and wide to search for nectar. (NoveList)

Dunphy, Madeleine. At home with the gopher tortoise: the story of a keystone species. Discusses the habitat, physical characteristics, and behavior of the gopher tortoise, and describes its role as a keystone species and how over three hundred sixty other kinds of animals live in the burrows it builds. (NoveList)

Reviews:

Harrison, David L. The Dirt Book. Holiday House, 2021.

David L. Harrison (author) Kate Cosgrove (illustrator)

Holiday House, 2021. 39p. $17.99 (978-0-8234-3861-7) Grades 2-4.  

School Library Journal starred (June 1, 2021) 

Gr 2-4-A beautifully illustrated collection of poetry that highlights animals that live underground. Each double-page spread has a poem on one side and a complementary drawing on the other, making this title a lovely addition to nature-focused poetry collections. The book opens with a fact box about dirt, explaining how some dirt is millions of years old and that it can take hundreds of years for an inch of dirt to accumulate. There is no information about the geology or composition of dirt or an explanation of the difference between dirt and soil. The main focus is the animals that live in dirt, from earthworms and spiders to toads and moles, and descriptions of their connection to dirt. The poems vary in length and format, from concrete to humorous, but offer few facts about the animals. Especially fun and descriptive is the earthworm: "Earthworm squiggles, earthworm squirms, earthworm dines on dirt and germs." The best part of this title is the gorgeous illustrations, done with colored pencils and digital tools. Realistic and creative, they offer more information about the animals than the poems. Readers of many ages will enjoy poring over the illustrations and observing all the details. The book has notes at the end: Brief paragraphs on each animal with some characteristics and a short bibliography that offers little beyond acknowledging that the information about each animal is accurate. VERDICT If your nature poetry section needs freshening and your readers enjoy bugs and other creepy-crawlies, this would be a nice addition to your collection.-Susan Lissim, Dwight Sch., New York City © Copyright 2021. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal ©2021

Additional Reviews Available

• Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 05/01/21

• Kirkus Reviews, 05/15/21