Squirmy Wormy Composters

Tony Barclay is a retired juvenile corrections probation officer and a
former public-health research associate at the University of Toronto.

This book is designed to teach young children, perhaps from grades 2 to
6, about worm composting. The pictures are cheerful and instructive,
while the text conveys much information about worms: their anatomy and
life cycle, how their lives fit into the world of plants and trees, and
how to handle them in the classroom. The writing is simple and accurate
and shows humor and imagination.

I found two things wrong with this book. First, the claim that worms
are “perfect pets” is surely overselling them. Second, the story
“The Pixi That Put the Worms to Sleep,” which attempts to explain
what would happen to the natural world if there were no worms, is
contrived and totally unconvincing, and I doubt if it would go over well
in any classroom I have come across.

Despite these minor points, this is a good attempt to help children
understand the basics of an important subject. It would be a useful
addition to a school library and an essential acquisition for a
classroom setting up a worm farm.