The Amazing Dirt Book

Jami van Haaften is a professional librarian and author of An Index to
Selected Canadian Provincial Government Publications for Librarians,
Teachers and Booksellers.

This book is about dirt in its many forms: mud, dust, silt, sand, clay,
rocks, soil, and bricks. Scientific facts about plants, animals,
geology, archeology, farming, and gardening are explained and
illustrated in an easy-to-understand format.

Young readers learn how to make “mud cake” (actually a rich
chocolate cake), bricks, gardens without soil, a composter, “dirty
dogs” (hot dogs baked in clay), a plaster cast of one’s footprint, a
dirt-bike obstacle course, and sand sculptures.

Terlson’s black-and-white sketches maintain the informal and humorous
tone of the text. Readers will enjoy the diversity of the subjects, as
well as the do-it-yourself recipes.