who would have thought I'd be describing a book about decomposition as cute!

the illustrations are just so awesome and quirky. such an informative and fun book that will change the way young children see the world around them

This was a pretty cool book.

It’s more for late elementary/middle school children. My 12 year enjoyed the book. There were parts where he was squeamish, because boys, but outside of that, he enjoyed the book a lot.

There was a lot of info in this book, even down to how decomposition happens in more than just nasty/gross places. The depictions were pretty awesome too.

This is def a book I’d keep on the book shelf.


We volunteered to read this ARC through NetGalley

An informative book about "life after death," this book will make young readers consider how living organisms continue to contribute to the ecosystem after their death. The book is packed with vibrant, somewhat abstract illustrations that lend themselves to the subject matter. A must read for kids interested in all things nature.

The first thing that attracted me to this book was the colorful pictures and quirky introduction by the author, a self-titled "former kid'. I think this would also attract kids in grades 3 - 5. I liked how the first few pagestakes the time to define an important word in the text, for example, "compose" and to give examples of how the word could be used in different ways.

The illustrations throughout the text help the readers to see exactly what is being described and I enjoyed seeing how the words used in the text do not baby the readers. Actual scientific terms are utilzed and defined when needed. Describing compost as a "recipe for rot" takes an ordinary scienfitic process into and turns it into a fun activity for the kids reading the book. I especially involved the pages on how we use "rot" in our foods uch as blue cheese and tofu.

I would recommend this book to any curious child or teacher of science.

Delightful book about the creatures that help to break down rotting materials. Beautiful illustrations, fun and interesting scientific facts for kids and adults, along with cool experiments. I learned a lot about organisms I often see, such as slime molds and snails, along with others I learned of from the book, such as snow fleas. Recommended.

Such a great book for kids as it is informational and entertaining all at the same time! It teaches kids how decomposition works and makes it a fun experience!

I just read World of Rot by Britt Crow-Miller. The book was easy to read, and the information was very well presented. The book informs you of the what, where, how and why of Rot. It also explains how and why things decompose, and examples of different types of rot and how they decompose. The illustrations were absolutely beautiful. I am recommending World of Rot to our school librarian and hope we can add it to our library next fall when it releases.

This was a fantastic resource for both young readers and adults alike. I thought the illustrations were charming, but still demonstrated some challenging subjects in a way that was accessible to children. As an educator, I’m looking forward to purchasing this book and utilizing it with my students!

Cool, gross, and interesting! This book goes quite in-depth to explore rot and it's role in our world. Kids interested in the natural world should definitely check this book out.

A really well done book about the animals and organisms that help keep our world neat. It is a longer book and might be best for older elementary school children. For those who are a bit squeamish, the pictures are illustrations rather than photographs. There is a lot of text, but it's broken into sections with a table of contents for reference. It's also attractively laid out.

A great choice for children who love the ick factor but want to learn about lesser known creatures.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I will purchase for my library.

I am in love with World of Rot. I digested it in less than a day and wanted more! The illustration are amazing and the description/information are easy to understand and comprehend. This would be wonderful for advanced elementary school kids or teachers to add to their school library. Even as an adult, this book was entertaining and the humor kept me wanting more. As a biology graduate from college, I would definitely recommend this book to any parent that wants to entertain and educate their kid at the same time. This would be wonderful to read together!

And as a bonus it has at home labs at the end of the book!

There doesn't seem to be rhyme or reason to the bolded words, but maybe there will be a glossary in the final version (although the bolded words still don't always fall into a glossary-worthy category; e.g., certain onomatopoeia are bolded). This is reminiscent of "The Unseen Jungle" from 2023 but doesn't carry the same vivacity that characterized that treasure of a book. Nevertheless, "World of Rot" covers a fascinating topic that will get kids interested in science and acquaint them with the more intriguing clinical aspects of the rather intimidating subject of post-mortem putrefaction! The illustrations are strong: simple but expressive and without the crowded visual jargon so often found in children's science books.

Okay, this book is SO COOL!! Thank you NetGalley for the chance to check this book out. I absolutely adore the illustrations just as much as the wildly interesting information given. This is such a fascinating topic, and Britt Crow-Miller 100% nailed it!! Not only did I learn a ton of new things, but my kids have now learned how things decompose all over the place 😳😳😂. A great pick for anyone wanting to learn more about our world in an easy digestible (see what I did there!) way.

Fantastic nonfiction picture book! Perfect for kids that like gross stuff, the information about each thing is given in bite sized pieces. The illustrations remind me of color blocked prints. Some school aged kids will love digging until this book. I also love the experiments and activities at the end!

The most beautiful book on decomposition! Super informative while staying interesting. The illustrations are fun and eye catching. Can't wait to hold the physical copy in my hands!

Using colorful illustrations, this delectable nonfiction book teaches us all about rot and decomposition in the world. Broken down into three parts, this book begins by focusing on describing the what, when, where, how, and why. Then, it dives deeper into the amazing facts behind decomposition and then the last section is dedicate to the who—all the amazing creatures who help with the decomposition process in nature. The end of our book includes experiments to see rot happen in real life and ends with a helpful index.

I really liked this book and think that my students would be interested in it as well, however, I found the illustrations super distracting.

My second grader and I loved this book! We read a few pages at a time at bedtime.

I would say it would be more appropriate academically for an upper elementary kiddo, and as an adult, I learned some fun facts too! For my second grader, she loved the many fun facts and humor throughout. The scientific names and higher level scientific explanations were beyond her level, but the humor and amazingly weird and colorful illustrations kept her attention and helped me explain the processes.

Sections include general definitions and explanations of the decomposition process. Then examples of decomposition in the world around us (with some great facts about millions of mites in our house around us, exploding whales, fermentation vs rotting, etc. The next section goes through a bunch of examples of types of decomposers, and finally a few easy at home science experiments.

Overall an amazing book! We reviewed an e-book advance copy from NetGalley and Storey Publishing. We will be adding a hard copy to our shelves as soon as it’s out! My daughter is very excited to add it to her shelves!!

There were some fun pieces of art, but the book as a whole was not my thing. The author seems to rely solely on gross/ick factor, rather than actually talking about the fascinatingly interesting facts about decomposers.

The pictures in this book are so pretty, it's easy to forget that some of the processes it describes are really gross. Full of good info!