Most kids, and lots of adults too, like digging. There’s something about putting a shovel or a trowel into the mud or a sandbox or a garden bed and seeing what’s beneath the surface. And what about the people who turn that fascination into a career?

Alexandra Stewart and Kitty Harris created a book for young readers that tells all about what archaelogists, palaeontologists, and geologists look for when they dig into the ground. It’s called We Dug Up the World: Unearth Amazing Archaeology Discoveries. The book starts with a list of tools these professionals use. Things like trowels, and picks, and gloves and wheelbarrows. Then it goes on to tell about amazing discoveries people have made over the years. And some of them were just everyday people who were curious and started to dig.

Take for instance Mary and Joseph Anning of England who discovered the fossils of several sea-dwelling dinosaur fish near their home. Or Jacobus Brits who found a meteorite on his farm in Namibia. And George McJunkin of New Mexico who dug up an extinct bison.

The stories of each of these adventurers unfold with whimsical illustrations that sometimes curve and wrap around the drawings. Each two-page spread reveals something about how things from the past can solve mysteries and lead to more understanding about Earth’s history.

Young explorers will find a lot to love in We Dug Up the World, which has a tall format, making it easy to find on the bookshelf for reading again and again.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.