Mighty Mole and Super Soil

by Mary Quattlebaum, Chad Wallace (Illustrator)

Overview

Science and story blend seamlessly in this book about the lives of moles. Learning becomes fun with beautiful illustrations and rhyming text! Readers will gain a deep appreciation for the world around us.

Below your feet, Mighty Mole is on the move. Like a swimmer in dirt, she strokes through the soil. Her tunnels are everywhere! She finds food, eludes a predator, has a family, and helps to make Super Soil. Moles live almost everywhere yet are rarely seen. Similarly, soil is a largely invisible ecosystem and yet is vital to the health of the world. Following the story, two "Explore More for Kids" pages offer a matching challenge and a review of some of the remarkable traits that make moles "mighty." Two additional pages of "Explore More for Teachers and Parents" offers activities in visual and language arts, science, technology, and math.

A perfect book for:

• parents and teachers in search of homeschool supplies.
• anyone looking for books about mammals for kids.
• anyone looking for children's books to help instill an appreciation of our planet!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781584695417
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	09/01/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	34 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 10 Years

About the Author

Mary Quattlebaum grew up in the country surrounded by woods and fields and with a pond like Jo MacDonald's. She first learned about plants and wildlife by helping tend her family's large vegetable garden and planting wildlife gardens as 4-H projects. Mary now lives in Washington, DC, where she and her family enjoy watching the birds, squirrels, butterflies, and other wild visitors to their backyard habitat. She is the author of many children's books and loves visiting schools and talking with kids. See her website, www.maryquattlebaum.com.

Editorial Reviews

2015-06-29
With her own set of superpowers, a mole navigates underground, finding food, escaping predators, raising a family, and aerating and enriching the soil around her. This introduction to the underground ecosystem starring Mighty Mole also mentions other soil dwellers and visitors. The two-level text includes a simple narrative describing the mole's customary activities, with a repeated refrain: "Scratch. Push. Scratch. Push." This is accompanied by a reduced-font paragraph of further information. Both are set on double-page spreads with dramatically lit digital paintings: detailed, oversized close-ups of subterranean animals and the soil that surrounds them and occasional views of the world aboveground, the background fading into a soft-focused distance. Like other nature books produced by this publisher, this valuable title includes several pages of backmatter: further information for readers and teachers about moles and the soil they live in, as well as a quiz. A QR code on the back takes readers to the publisher's website for still more information, including a glossary, and activities. It's unfortunate that the text labels these earthworm-eaters "insectivores," defining that word in context as eating "insects, snails, slugs, centipedes, and larvae." Though this is the term used by biologists, it will likely confuse lay readers. There are few books available for young readers about these important soil-improvers, so this fills a niche. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews