Worm Makes a Sandwich by Brianne Farley (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 32 pages, ages 4-8). When a worm offers to make the reader a sandwich, it acknowledges that it seems like an impossible task. But give Worm some garbage, and it will eat and poop, and so will some of its friends, like snails, slugs, beetles, and millipedes. All that poop makes for some rich compost, which can then be added to the garden soil. And the soil helps grow tomatoes, which–you guessed it–can be made into a delicious sandwich. Includes additional information on composting.
Worm is a good narrator to introduce composting and gardening to the youngest readers, and the illustrations do a great job of showing each step in the process. Worm’s claim on the cover that it will make a sandwich “all by myself!” may be a bit misleading, since many other insects as well as a human gardener are shown facilitating the process, but Worm definitely plays a vital role.
What Fish Are Saying: Strange Sounds in the Ocean by Kirsten Pendreigh, illustrated by Katie Melrose (Sourcebooks Explore, 40 pages, ages 4-8). As a child and adult paddle their kayak, enjoying some peace interspersed with a few quiet sounds, they wonder if there’s noise under the water. The answer is a rousing yes, as the rhyming text moves undersea where creatures grunt, groan, squeal, burp, and more. We find out how and why they make noise, and why sound works so well under the water. The repeating refrain “It’s noisy down below” concludes the book with a two-page spread showing all their animals and their sounds. Includes two pages of additional information about undersea noises.
Kids will love these catchy rhymes, fascinating facts, and gorgeous colored illustrations of the busy (and noisy) undersea world. The book would make a great mentor text for teaching onomatopoeia. Some of the rhymes seemed just a syllable too long or short, so I would review it a couple of times before attempting to read it aloud.