World of Rot Learn All about the Wriggly, Slimy, Super-Cool Decomposers We Couldn’t Live Without

This fascinating book takes readers on a deep dive into the process of decay, from the science behind it to an up-close and personal look at the organisms that do the dirty work to make our planet livable. 

With a touch of humor and quirky full-color illustrations, kids will learn about the life-recycling system happening all around us—in the sea, in the soil, and even inside our own bodies. Profiles of decomposers such as hungry fungi and familiar worms, poop-slurping butterflies, and slimy banana slugs offer something to pique the curiosity of every kid. Readers will also learn the heroic role decomposers might play in fighting climate change and eating plastic. 

Britt Crow-Miller is the founding director of CityWild, a nonprofit organization with the mission of inspiring curiosity about the natural world through fun, exploration, and hands-on learning for kids and families, including those in underserved and historically marginalized communities. Her sustainability-related writing has been published by the Global Water Forum, State of the Planet, Huffington Post, and Harvard Business School. A parent to three young kids, Crow-Miller is also on the faculty in the Departments of Environmental Conservation and Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she directs the Sustainability Science graduate program. 
 

Part 1: The What, How, Where, When, and Why of Rot
What's in a Word?
How Does Decomposition Happen?
Where the Rotten Things Are
Recipe for Rot
A Revolting Timeline
When a Tree Falls
What's with the Smell?
Decomposers in the Food Chain
A World without Decomposers

Part 2: Decomposition Wows
House of Rot
Delicious Decomposition
Decomposition inside You
When the Biggest Animal Dies
Beached Whale or Ticking Time Bomb?
Rotten Nests
As the Rotten World Burns
The Rot Resistance
Plastic-Eating Hungry Fungi

Part 3: Meet the Decomposers
Ants
Bacteria
Beetles
Butterflies and Moths
Crustaceans
Earthworms
Echinoderms
Flies
Fungi
Marine Worms
Millipedes
Mites
Mollusks
Nematodes
Pill Bugs and Sow Bugs
Protozoa
Slime Molds
Slugs and Snails
Springtails
Termites

Rotten Activities, Explorations & Experiments
Index
Acknowledgments