About the Book
Soil! We walk on it, play in it, build with it, grow our food in it, and get antibiotics from it. But what exactly is soil? What makes it so important? Can we survive without it? In Explore Soil! With 25 Great Projects, young readers learn how vital soil is to our lives. It filters the water we drink and the air we breathe, and most of the food we eat either grows in soil or subsists on plants that grow there. Soil is a very important part of our daily diet!
Activities such as exploring soil runoff, composting, and analyzing soil composition offer kids the chance to get their hands dirty while coming face to face with the study of soil. Kids learn concepts within the fields of life science and chemistry while discovering the dangers soil faces. Explore Soil offers fun, practical information about something kids already love: soil!
Table of Contents:
Intro: What Is Soil?
Chapter 1: Soil Filters the Air and Water
Chapter 2: Cures and Diseases in Soil
Chapter 3: The Meat You Eat
Chapter 4: From Farm to Plate
Chapter 5: Soil Gone Bad
Chapter 6: Recovering Soil
Glossary
Resources
Index
About the Author :
Kathleen M. Reilly is an award-winning writer and author of more than a dozen books, including several for Nomad Press: Planet Earth: 25 Environmental Projects You Can Build Yourself; Cities: Discover How They Work; Energy: 25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power & How We Get It; and Explore Solids and Liquids! With 25 Great Projects. She lives with her family in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Bryan Stone is a cartoonist and the illustrator of several books for Nomad Press including Explore Night Science!, Explore Flight!, Explore Rivers and Ponds!, Explore Rocks and Minerals!, Explore Electricity!, and Explore Money!. He lives in Hartland, Vermont.
Review :
Praise for Explore Soil! With 25 Great Projects
School Library Connection, March 2016
"Through engaging text, sidebars, graphics, and projects, this book just might change the way readers think about soil . . . . Recommended"
Booklist
"This entry in the Explore Your World series offers an animated, extensive introduction to soil, from detailing types to explaining how soil functions and impacts the environment to addressing conservation issues. . . . this is a broad-ranging, inviting approach to the topic, which both students and educators may find useful. "
John Witz, Senior Corporate Geologist, Environmental Products & Services of Vermont
This is a must read’ for preteens interested in understanding the planet we call home. Explore Soil! Is an easy to understand look at a complicated science. The projects kept my daughters intrigued and enthusiastic and the Keyword Prompts are an exciting touch.”
Claire O’Connor, Policy Analyst with the Soil Health Team at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
This fun, informative book is a great introduction to one of our most precious, yet undervalued, resourcesour soil! Kids and adults alike will benefit from its lessons about the world beneath our feet.”
Other Books by Kathleen M. Reilly
Explore Solids and Liquids! With 25 Great Projects
Library Media Connections
This introduction to basic chemistry investigates solids, liquids, and gases and how these forms of matter change and transform. With a frog-like creature with Albert Einstein’s face as the guide, each chapter provides background material leading the reader to a series of well-constructed hands-on activities. . . This is an attractive presentation, easy to navigate, that encourages young readers to learn through text and experimentation." Recommended
Booklist
"The accessible text takes a friendly tone, providing ample background information and easily recognizable everyday examples. Cartoon illustrations, inset boxes with facts, and occasional jokes help keep readers engaged. Experimenters are asked to make predictions, try multiple variations, and record observations. . . This should provide inspiration and insights into scientific exploration for students, teachers, and budding mad scientists.”
Cities: Discover How They Work with 25 Projects
2014 Silver Moonbeam Award
Booklist
"Propounding the emerging interdisciplinary paradigm of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and design, and mathematics), this hands-on informational book discusses how cities’ complex structures and systems function together . . . Through appealing illustrations, reader-friendly text, and fun hands-on experiments suitable for home and classroom, Reilly helps foster an appreciation for the way that cities function almost as organisms with vibrant systems and interdependent structures."
School Library Journal
According to the 2010 Census, 80% of Americans live in urban areas. But do they know what it takes to make a city run? From this well-organized and engaging text, readers will learn how cities developed and grew. . . this is a worthy title for any library collection."
Explore Life Cycles! 25 Great Projects, Activities, Experiments
Library Media Connection
"This book is a great tool for elementary and middle school teachers. . . Science teachers and anyone interested in science will find it a fun book to work with. Recommended"
Science Books and Films
". . . Children ages 6-10, especially those with a science bent, will respond to this title's kid-friendly layout. . . This book is good for parents when kids complain, 'I don't have anything to do.'"
Children's Literature
". . . Early science books don't get too much better than this. This book will be welcomed by teachers as students study life cycles in their classroom as well as by parents who may have fun with the activities, including Insect Life Cycle Snack Mix, a Mealworm Nursery, and tree measuring, done from the ground. Illustrations provide humor, and fun facts are offered throughout the book.
Planet Earth: 25 Environmental Projects You Can Build Yourself
2008 Bronze Moonbeam Award
National Science Teachers Association
"This delightful and informative guide to the natural world is sure to captivate the attention of young readers. . ."
Booklist
"Both comprehensive and approachable, this title in the Projects You Can Build Yourself series combines explanations of science concepts and environmental issues with hands-on projects. . ."
Curriculum Connections: School Library Journal
"Kathleen M. Reilly's Planet Earth: 25 Environmental Projects You Can Build Yourself presents background material and easy-to-replicate activities that focus on the basic elements of the natural world and environmental issues. "
CLEAR Library Reviews RECOMMENDED
