Children's books about worms 🪱

I originally published this post on April 12, 2022 — it’s one of my all-time favorites. I’ve edited it, added some full reviews, and otherwise updated it here.

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Worms!

Who doesn’t love a worm? Okay, maybe don’t answer that.

I’m not sure I love worms, but I definitely appreciate what they do.

And if you’re not yet there with me, consider this from “The Living Soil: Earthworms,” by Clive A. Edwards, via the Natural Resources Conservation Service (my NRCS-soil-conservationist husband would be very disappointed if I linked to anyone else for soil information, so here you go):

[Earthworms] are major decomposers of dead and decomposing organic matter, and derive their nutrition from the bacteria and fungi that grow upon these materials. They fragment organic matter and make major contributions to recycling the nutrients it contains.

Earthworms occur in most temperate soils and many tropical soils. They are divided into 23 families, more than 700 genera, and more than 7,000 species. They range from an inch to two yards in length and are found seasonally at all depths in the soil.

7,000 species?! And…TWO YARDS? 😳🫢

Okay, I am still working on loving a two-yard-long worm, but I love that worms help me remember: so much life is happening all around us, and we’re entirely too human to see it.

If nothing else, worms are amazing.

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Here’s are some books to help you learn more about these miraculous creatures, without whom we’d probably perish. (Really.)

• Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer by Carole Why

• Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin

• Superworm by Julia Donaldson

• Yucky Worms by Vivian French

• Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser

• Worms for Lunch? by Leonid Gore (for babies and toddlers)

• An Earthworm’s Life by John Himmelman

• Marty McGuire Digs Worms! by Kate Messner (early chapter book)

• Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer (nonfiction)

• Dirty Bertie: Worms! by David Roberts (early chapter book on the easier end)

• The Adventures of Lowly Worm by Richard Scarry

• Lowly Worm Meets the Early Bird by Richard Scarry (early reader)

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Worm Weather by Jean Taft, illustrated by Matt Hunt (2015)

🍼 Babies & Toddlers (0–3)
🧒 Preschool–Early Reader (3–6)

There’s a particular kind of joy in going out in rainy weather, especially when you spend most of it head down, looking at what’s happening on the ground — worm weather!

Taft’s rhythmic text reads like a chant, with a beat made for stomping through puddles and swinging an umbrella. Hunt’s muddy-colored, bold digital illustrations lean into that same energy with a sense of movement that makes everything feel alive, especially you.

This one is a perfect reminder that rainy days aren’t something to wait out — they’re an invitation to step outside, and, go find some worms!

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Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman (2019)

🧒 Preschool–Early Reader (3–6)
📖 Independent Readers (6–9)

Carl, an earthworm, is happily doing his work until a single question — “Why?” —sends him spiraling into an existential search. (Been there, Carl, been there.) He asks the other animals, all of whom seem sure of their purpose, while his own remains frustratingly unclear. It’s only when he stops doing his work that the world around him begins to fall apart, revealing just how essential he is.

Freedman’s soft, earthy watercolor illustrations and winding text mirror Carl’s underground life, creating a reading experience much like tunneling in the dirt — and trying to find one’s way through life.

This is a thoughtful, even profound read about purpose, interdependence, and the small but absolutely necessary work of being exactly who you are.

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Curious About Worms by Kate Waters (2017)

🧒 Preschool–Early Reader (3–6)
📖 Independent Readers (6–9)

If you need some encouragement to appreciate the incredible diversity, resilience, and sheer weird features of worms, look no further than this gross and totally fascinating nonfiction picture book.

Part of the Smithsonian series — including the photo quality you’d expect from the institution — it’s a straightforward and accessible read, packed with facts about where worms live, what they look like, what they eat, and who eats them, stretching well beyond the backyard earthworm into a much wider, wilder world.

I, of course, read this cover to cover the moment I had it in my hands — the more disgusting the nonfiction, the better, in my reading life — and highly recommend it for other nature lovers, worm enthusiasts (or those open to having your mind changed!), curious kids, and curious grownups who have a hard time remembering they’re not kids.

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Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof (1982)

📖 Independent Readers (6–9)
📚 Middle Grade (9–12)
📘 Young Adult (12+)

There are several newer editions of this book, the most recent published in 2017, which merely goes to show that information on worm sex never gets old. More likely, people are interested in the practicalities of worm composting, but I am into both, so I love this book.

To be clear, this is a guide to vermicomposting, with clear directions for setting up and maintaining a worm bin, but it’s also kind of a weird recognition of worms as tiny heroes — explaining not just the how but the why behind the process by which worms turn waste into dirt, which is pretty dang close to magic. (We probably actually would perish without worms.)

This is a fascinating book, but I admit, not for everyone. Hand this to your middle-grade or older kiddo interested in offbeat reads, gardening, or worm compost. (Come sit by me!)

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Read good books and take good care 😘
Sarah