Reading at the Seed Library: Worms and Compost

Blog written by Rachael Huegerich 

January 27, 2024

There is a lot going on in the soil of your garden. Learn about worms and other creatures under the dirt, or delve deeper into the compost process, at the seed library display at the Education Library. You can find the seed library just past the reference desk—or learn more about UBC Library’s seed lending libraries here. Feel free to “borrow” some seeds, or some of the books on display now. Here are a few:

Compost stew: an A to Z recipe for the Earth

Written by Mary McKenna Siddals;
illustrated by Ashley Wolff

PZ8.3.S5715 Co 2014

A rhyming text explains from A to Z, which common items around the house can be turned into the dark, crumbly stuff we call ‘ompost stew’.

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How to say hello to a worm: a first guide to outside

By Kari Percival

SB457 .P46 2022

Say “hello” to worms, dirt, peas, and more in this gentle how-to guide for connecting with nature.

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My Baba’s garden

Written by Jordan Scott;
illustrated by Sydney Smith

PZ7.1.S336845 My 2023

A story about the special relationship between a child and his grandmother and the time they spend looking for worms for the garden.

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The worm

By Élise Gravel

QL386.6 .G7213 2014

The second in a series of humorous books about disgusting creatures, The Worm is a look at the earthworm. It covers such topics as the worm’s habitats (sometimes they live inside other animals), its anatomy (its muscle tube is slimy and gross), and its illustrious history (worms have been on earth for 120 million years).

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Up in the garden and down in the dirt

Written by Kate Messner;
with art by Christopher Silas Neal

SB457 .M47 2015

Up in the garden, the world is full of green–leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthworms digging, snakes hunting, skunks burrowing, and all the other animals that make a garden their home.

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Bug science: 20 projects and experiments about arthropods: insects, arachnids, algae, worms, and other small creatures

By Karen Romano Young

QL434.15 .Y68 2009

Part of the National Geographic Kids Science Fair Winners Series, this book features several cool workshops, including two on compost heaps and worms.

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The school garden curriculum : an integrated K-8 guide for discovering science, ecology, and whole-systems thinking

By Kaci Rae Christopher

GE77 .C57 2019

The School Garden Curriculum provides an integrated K-8 framework and over 200 weekly lessons that weave science, permaculture, and environmental education into place-based, immersive learning.

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Carl and the meaning of life

By Deborah Freedman

PZ7.F87276 Cr 2019

When a field mouse asks Carl the earthworm why he tunnels through the dirt, Carl doesn’t have an answer, so he sets off to find out.