Rotten! Vultures, Beetles, Slime, and Nature’s Other Decomposers by Anita Sanchez - ESSENTIAL

Rotten! Vultures, Beetles, Slime, and Nature’s Other Decomposers by Anita Sanchez, illustrated by Gilbert Ford, 83 pages. NON-FICTION. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019. $17

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Like the book Itch!, from the same series, this book covers the more unpleasant but fascinating elements of the biological world. This book moves from decomposition that happens in the world at large, and with each chapter moves closer to decomposition that happens close to you and even inside of you. There is a solid amount of reading commitment with this book, but it is broken up into small sections, making for an accessible non-fiction reading experience.

I learned a lot from this book, and even perhaps addressed some of my own fears born out of a lack of understanding. The information in this book is the perfect amount of gross that some kids crave, and not so disgusting that it will be off-putting for more sensitive readers. This would be a fun book to read as a class, aloud or in small groups.

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher