The Dirt Book

This charming picture book is a splendid way to encourage an understanding and appreciation for nature and the often-unseen life that inhabits the planet alongside humans. The illustrations are rich and elaborate and the delightful poems keep the audience cheerfully bopping along to the rhythm of... dirt.--Shelf Awareness With a playful sensibility and expert use of varied patterns of rhythm and rhyme, this collection of 14 poems takes us underground to painlessly learn about the life that burrows beneath our feet. . . . Fittingly laid out in a vertical format to take readers deep down into the ground, the full-bleed illustrations showcase gorgeous earth tones sparked with turquoise, yellow, peach, and lavender. Colored pencil has been manipulated digitally to resemble pastels and depicts a charming world aglow with life. Inviting in every way, this book is perfect for units on soil and animal habitats and is every bit as pleasurable for leisure reading.--School Library Connection The vertical double spread layout showcases activity at different depths, with Cosgrove's lush colored pencil and digital renderings an array of sophisticated colors and designerly patterns that fairly begs to be translated to fabric print. End matter comprises a chatty paragraph of additional information and a brief bibliography for each poem.--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books