From bacteria to beetles, countless organisms survive and thrive at the junction of soil and the decaying matter lying on its surface.Bulion, who celebrated ocean critters in At the Seashore Cafe (2011), turns landward to look at those who inhabit the leaf-litter layer called duff. In 19 poems she introduces decomposers and aerators such as fungi, tardigrades, springtails, and even earthworms. Many of these creatures are microscopic or near-microscopic; most will be unfamiliar. But each poem is accompanied by a clear description of the creature and its ecosystem role. Set in a smaller font, this exposition will be challenging but helpful to her readers. The poems are expertly crafted in a variety of forms (identified in the backmatter). The language is lively and the imagery appropriate. With alliteration, internal rhymes, and careful rhythm, these will be a delight to read aloud and learn. The culminating "A Few Favorite Brown Food Web Kings," if sung to the tune of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things," is both irresistible and a solid learning aid, grouping these once-unfamiliar creatures by their jobs in the leaf litter. Meganck's engaging digital drawings give each creature pop-eyes and attitude. He concludes with a comparison image showing their sizes relative to a straight pin. The backmatter also includes instructions for litter-critter investigations and further resources.A delightful, memorable introduction to an unsung ecosystem. (Informational poetry. 7-12)

Nineteen poems (in various forms) accompanied by bright digital illustrations provide information both whimsical and scientific about inhabitants of the brown food web--the layer of leaves and soil where organic matter breaks down and plants grow. Each poem is accompanied by a smaller-print scientific explanation. Suggested experiments, critter size comparisons, and notes on poetic forms round out this information-packed poetry volume. Reading list, websites. Glos.

From bacteria to beetles, countless organisms survive and thrive at the junction of soil and the decaying matter lying on its surface.Bulion, who celebrated ocean critters in At the Seashore Cafe (2011), turns landward to look at those who inhabit the leaf-litter layer called duff. In 19 poems she introduces decomposers and aerators such as fungi, tardigrades, springtails, and even earthworms. Many of these creatures are microscopic or near-microscopic; most will be unfamiliar. But each poem is accompanied by a clear description of the creature and its ecosystem role. Set in a smaller font, this exposition will be challenging but helpful to her readers. The poems are expertly crafted in a variety of forms (identified in the backmatter). The language is lively and the imagery appropriate. With alliteration, internal rhymes, and careful rhythm, these will be a delight to read aloud and learn. The culminating "A Few Favorite Brown Food Web Kings," if sung to the tune of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things," is both irresistible and a solid learning aid, grouping these once-unfamiliar creatures by their jobs in the leaf litter. Meganck's engaging digital drawings give each creature pop-eyes and attitude. He concludes with a comparison image showing their sizes relative to a straight pin. The backmatter also includes instructions for litter-critter investigations and further resources.A delightful, memorable introduction to an unsung ecosystem. (Informational poetry. 7-12)

-Between soil-s grains of weathered rock,/ Beneath its veiny leaves in scraps,/ Amid its ribs of rotting sticks,/ Soil-s litter critters find the gaps,- begins Bulion-s 19-poem exploration of tiny and sometimes microscopic creatures that rarely find themselves the subject of a poem. Among them are comma-size proturans (-We eat debris/ from forest floors,/ like rotting plants/ and fungus spores-) and eyelash-length symphylans, fast-moving, omnivorous mini-centipedes that devour everything from -tender rootlets- to -newish dead of any breed,/ Since I-m no fusspot when I feed.- Bulion stuffs her poems with scientific detail and puts even more into accompanying -science notes.- Meganck-s cartoons strike sillier notes (a rat races away from a millipede-s stench), balancing all of the information Bulion provides with hefty doses of fun. Ages 8-12. Illustrator-s agent: Abigail Samoun, Red Fox Literary. (Mar.)