SOIL: A Field Trip Guide
By
The format is the same as Russell's other Field Trip Guides (see above), but there's more continuity (and more text) in this step-by-step explanation of what goes into soil -- ground up rocks, minerals, dead plants and animals, earthworm castings, etc. A distinction is made between topsoil and subsoil and erosion is briefly mentioned, but Ross sticks close to the basics (and to what can be corroborated in the accompanying photographs). The value of this lesson turns on whether or not you think children can afford to wait a few years for their First Book of Soil (Matthews, 1970).