Microscopic Life in the Garden

Children's Literature

If the cover illustrations do not hook you, the author gets your attention in the two-page table of contents with promises of things to come: large, captioned color photos of algae, bacteria, fungi, and viruses. He does a fine job of discussing the forms of microscopic garden life, what they do, where they fit into the food chain, and how people deal with them. Illustrations are meaningful for kids, like the spoon heaped with bacteria, fungi, algae, and insects to demonstrate their proportional numbers in nature. And, the requisite food chain chart is balanced with a photo of wormy debris on the facing page. Helpful bugs as well as health hazards are discussed. This book has factual appeal while supplying a little of that "Yuck!" factor that often attracts kids. (Mites the size of my fist had my skin crawling.) Delving into the food chain at a microscopic level, provides a solid basis for understanding the interdependency of life forms on Earth. The writing is focused and each concept is well-illustrated with clear photographs. Thirty-two pages include a table of contents, a glossary, references, and an index. Other titles in the "Micro World" series include Microscopic Life in Your Body, Microscopic Life in Your Food, and Microscopic Life in the Home. This would be a fine addition to a school or classroom library. 2005, Smart Apple Media, Ages 8 to 11.
—Chris Gill