Title: Diggin’ Dirt: Science Adventures with Kitanai the Origami Dog
Author: Thomas Kingsley Troupe
Illustrator: Jamey Christoph
Published in 2013
Topic: Science
Grade Level: 1-3
Diggin’ Dirt: Science Adventures with Kitanai the Origami Dog is part of the mixed media Origami Science Adventure series. 
This fun and educational story explores soil through narrative and conversations between Kitanai, an origami dog, and Roger, a knowledgeable earthworm. Roger teaches Kitanai about the importance and complexity of soil. They explore different layers of soil and talk about fungi, bacteria, nutrients, humus, and decomposers. The author also provides readers with a glossary of key educational terms and directions on how to create their own origami dog at the back of the book. This engaging story fits well into a science lesson regarding soil formation and/or components (1.7 (A) and 3.7 (A)). Diggin’ Dirt: Science Adventures with Kitanai the Origami Dog is a story of friendship, new knowledge, adventure, soil, and science.
Here is a snippet from Diggin’ Dirt: Science Adventures with Kitanai the Origami Dog:
“Kitanai caught another whiff of that scent. The scent was close by! He walked in a circle through the mud, stopped, and started to dig.
‘Hey that’s good! Digging in the dirt is great for the soil. It helps mix the topsoil with the next layer of dirt.
Moles, prairie dogs, and other animals that live underground do most of the digging.’
‘Oh, really? I just want to find whatever is buried out here!’
‘The dirt down here is different,’ Kitanai said. ‘It’s not as dark and fluffy as the topsoil.’
‘You’ve dug down to the subsoil layer. There’s less humus and more rock than in the topsoil. In a few thousand years, the rocks will break down and become part of the topsoil.’” (14-16).
This book is a great way for students to visualize and see the difficult key terms: bacteria, fungi, nutrients, humus and decomposers. Those are hard words and students will be able to find pictures and definitions of those words from this book which is a great reason to read this. Also, not many students know how to make origami so that could be an added activity. Great snippet to read!
I love the concepts within this book! You did an awesome job writing the description; it seems this book contains a lot of information in a fun, easy way for third graders to understand. You matched the TEKS perfectly! What excites me most about this book, is that it incorporates specific science content and the art of origami. A good activity would be to show students how to make an origami dog, give it a name, and write their own scientific story. I also like how the book includes a glossary; very informational! Another plus is the current information since it was published in 2013.