Worms (again)

Every morning I've been watching a large squawky baby robin being fed by its parents - nice long juicy worms.  I was spending time communing with the worms in the compost at work this morning, making potting soil, and I thought I'd write a short post with some kid book recommendations for folks who are into worms!

Mary Applehof's Worms Are Eating Our Garbage is a good resource for kids a bit older than mine, and perhaps for a coop or classroom setting.  Measure worms, look at their anatomy, look at their life cycle, and more!

Herman & Marguerite by Jay O'Callahan - I have raved about this guy before - he is a superb storyteller, so if you can find his recording, Earth Stories, this story is among those told there. Herman is a worm and Marguerite is a caterpillar and then, of course, a butterfly...and there is much happy worm singing.   As a bonus, the recording also has two or three stories about frogs, and many of the lines from the stories have become a regular part of the way we talk around here.  I would put this CD in to listen to all by myself. I'm that big of a dork, and he is that great of a storyteller.

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin - such a funny, silly book.  We all loved reading this journal of a little worm - it gives good insight to his family life and his close friendship with a spider. 

The Owly books by Andy Renton.  Oh, we love Owly, and he has a little worm friend who comes to live with him. These graphic novels are so lovely - if your kid is drawn to graphic novels and you cringe at what they usually find at the library, these are really worth seeking out.  Sweet story lines, with lots of natural history information thrown in there.

On our list of things to do this summer is worm calling, or "grunting".  Stay tuned...