THE DIRT!

A vigorous dig into the interconnected lives of the denizens of our planet’s soil, from microbes to meerkats.

Focusing on fauna but also offering a few glances at flora and fungi, Leigh shovels quips and wisecracks into the rich factual loam that fills her cross-sectional and inset views of the biota that mostly live their lives just out of sight while busily making nutritious “humus” (“No, no, not hummus!”) from sterile dirt. The author/illustrator works her way up from bacteria and nematodes to the memorably named screaming hairy armadillo and hog badger. Nematodes, she notes, make up some 80% of all animal life on Earth and serve as a “bountiful noodley buffet” for many predators. Along the way, she convincingly underscores the fundamental notion of interdependency, from the “wood wide web” on. And though Leigh urges readers to love their teeming terrestrial neighbors underfoot, she also presents a remarkably nuanced picture. She explains that though earthworms are beneficial, some are invasive to North America and potentially harmful (“Earthworms: Forest Frenemy”). All of this chewy grit is sandwiched between closer looks at soil itself as medium and habitat, beginning with its composition and layers and ending with the effects of erosion, pesticides, and acid rain.

Burrows brilliantly into its topic with a will and a wink.