Investigations in Urban Soils - Baltimore Ecosystem Study

Silver, D. M. 1993. One Small Square: Backyard. W.H. Freeman and Company, NY.
Richly illustrated, this elementary-middle school book describes the interactions
between and among the many organisms that live in the backyard, including the soil.
Students will be interested in reading the imbedded captions and identifying organisms
in the drawings.
Himmelman, J. 2001. An Earthworm’s Life. Children’s Press.
From the Nature UpClose series, this book contains colorful illustrations and
stories that follow earthworms through their life cycles and daily lives. For ages 3 – 7.
Meet Wendall’s Cousins, on Yucky Kids Discovery Communications Inc, 2000
http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/flash/worm/pg000216.html
This website includes activities kids can do online while they read and learn
about earthworms.
Fiction Books
O’Callahan, Jay. 1996. Herman and Marguerite, An Earth Story. Peachtree Publishers,
Ltd, Atlanta, GA.
A story about singing earthworms that emphasizes the interdependence of life.
Accurate portrayal of earthworms (besides singing), and ideas for backyard explorations
at the end.
Larson, G. 1999. There’s a Hair in My Dirt! A Worm’s Story. Harper Perennial,NY.
A young earthworm learns about his important role from his father, who tells this
satirical tale about the ignorance of many humans toward ecological balance.
Cronin, D. 2003. Diary of a Worm. Harper Collins, NY.
A young earthworm narrates a season in his life, including trouble with
homework, surviving fishing season, and his aspirations to be in the CIA. Earthworms
are depicted with some anthropomorphic characteristics, but many of their activities are
ecologically sound.
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Baltimore Ecosystem Study – Investigations in Urban Soils
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