Darwin’s Super-Pooping Worm Spectacular
£7.00£7.60 (-8%)
Charles Darwin is widely known for his On the Origin of Species book, yet Darwin had another great love, and that was for worms.
Told for the first time for children, this is the silly and fascinating true story of how Charles Darwin came to discover that the humble earthworm is the most important species on our planet.
Darwin suspected worms were special but his scientist friends laughed at him. In a quest to find out the worms’ special talent, Darwin played the bassoon to the worms to see if they could hear, and laid out a picnic treasure hunt for them to see how well they could smell, among many other bizarre but entirely true experiments.
But Darwin didn’t find anything extra special about worms. Until, one day, he realised that worms do have a superpower. They POO! Without their life-sustaining, nutrient-rich poo, there would be no plants and no animals on earth.
Darwin’s 40 years studying worms are still essential to our understanding of worms today, and ever since, scientists have taken him VERY seriously, and never again laughed at his love for worms.
The story of Darwin and the worms not only centres around the perennially brilliant subject of poo, it:
- Teaches children about a key historic figure, the food cycle and deductive scientific thinking.
- Is also a heartwarming story of the triumph of a zany underdog who won’t let bullies get in the way of his love for worms.
- Is told in a humorous and engaging way, with non-fiction information on each page to help educate alongside the story.
- Features charming and humorous full-colour illustrations.
Curious minds will love this fact-filled, laugh-out-loud book
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by hertsengland
I knew about Darwin’s contribution to the world of worms but I am amazed that his work has been made accessible to children in the form of a picture book. And accessible to adults who may not be inclined to read a Victorian scientist’s work. As a child in the sixties, our teachers were always telling us how important worms were, I believe that idea came directly from Darwin and very little was done in the study of worms for many years. Today we have the highly motivated members of the Worm Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, studying and championing worms.
A perfect book for young and old, with lovely illustrations. Every primary teacher should have a copy.
by S. M.
This book was a huge hit with my son! He loves non-fiction books about the natural world and this one was full of wonderful facts that were new to him and me!!! A funny, engaging book I would recommend to worm-lovers everywhere!
by K. Lucas
Darwin’s Super-Pooping Worm Spectacular was an instant hit with my daughter. She found it hilarious. In her own words: ‘Pooptastic and wormtastic! I loved it!’ She and I both learned some fascinating facts and were charmed by the marvelous story accompanied by gorgeous illustrations. Highly recommend!
by Phillip Dillon
…make it this one! This is such a fun and fascinating read. And beautifully illustrated too. I lost count of the number of things I learnt (and obviously bluffed to my children that I already knew ????). My 6 and 8 year olds were hooked from the very title and got more and more into it with every page, guessing along with what the superpower would be. They were firmly ‘Team Worm’ from the off. Will definitely be on the lookout for more of these in the future (and reading them myself first to help with my bluffing). So glad I bought this. It’s definitely sparked my daughters’ imaginations and nourished a new passion. Anyway, got to go – we’re going on a worm hunt, we’re not scared!
by Candi Miller
Well, who knew that the great man himself, Charles Darwin, spent so many years conducting bizarre experiments (think bassoon-playing to test their hearing) on earthworms?!! Author Polly Owen knew, and has obviously researched this fascinating picture book very well indeed. (Great references.) Grand daughter and I learned lots of amazing historical and earthwormy facts from this accessible texts. And we loved the illustrations by Gwen Millward – imagine earthworms in all sorts of amusing settings (We chuckled especially about the two taking tea in their burrow.) I’d recommend this to teachers and parents keen on giving 5- 9 year olds an entertaining lesson in ecology.