Harriet's Hungry Worms - Story Snug

Harriet’s Hungry Worms by Samantha Smith & Melissa Johns

Harriet’s Hungry Worms takes a humorous look at the way worms can help us recycle kitchen scraps and other household waste. This easy to read, beautifully illustrated story incorporates the days of the week as well as introducing fascinating facts about worms and their role in our ecosystem.

The Story: Nine hundred and eighty three extremely hungry worms live in Harriet’s garden in a large, green box. Over the course of a week Harriet feeds them an incredibly varied diet of household waste. Harriet finds the worms incredibly boring but then she notices a tap on the side of the box. She turns it on and out comes…

…worm wee!

As the days progress the worms chomp through muesli, weeds, old newspaper but they’re not so keen on Nanny Trudy’s old tomato relish! They don’t do anything but eat and Harriet gets bored waiting for something exciting to happen. But when she finds the tap she realises that the worms have been doing an important job all along and their wee will have a magical effect on the plants and vegetables in her garden.

We absolutely love the illustrations which use recycled materials to emphasis the sustainability message. The worms are really cute and despite their huge number they all look different, we love the varied expressions on their faces 🙂

  • Harriet's Hungry Worms - worm box - Story Snug

Harriet’s Hungry Worms has a glossary at the end of the book which is packed with fascinating worm facts and information about what you can feed your worms as well as what you can’t. It can encourage young readers to recycle their household waste in a fun way.

This would be a fabulous book to include in an Early Years environmental topic. It can help teach young children the days of the week and would make a great classroom display, children could create a new ‘menu’ for the worms!

Age Range: 3 +

Author: Samantha Smith / Illustrator: Melissa Johns

Thank you to Exisle Publishing for sending a review copy of Harriet’s Hungry Worms which will be published on May 9th.


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11 responses to “Harriet’s Hungry Worms by Samantha Smith & Melissa Johns”


  1. […] Harriet’s Hungry Worms by Samantha Smith & Melissa Johns […]


  2. Jayne @ Sticky Mud and Belly Laughs avatar

    I love eco-conscious storybooks, and this would make a super fun resource when covering the environment and ecosystems. 🙂


    1. Catherine avatar

      It’s a brilliant resource and the concept is conveyed in a really child friendly way 🙂


  3. Samantha Smith avatar

    Thank you for the fabulous review. Harriet, her hungry worms and I are delighted you loved it! Samantha Smith 💚🪱


    1. Catherine avatar

      You’re welcome Samantha! Thank you for writing such a great book. I’m seriously considering investing in a wormery 🙂


  4. Ruth avatar

    This book is fantastic and I’m going to see about getting a copy for our preschool. We have a couple of worm farms and It would be perfect for teaching the kids about what food scraps can and can’t go into the worm farm.
    #mmbc


    1. Catherine avatar

      This book would be a fabulous support for children who already have access to worm farms 🙂


  5. Kim Carberry avatar

    What a great way to teach children about worms, recycling and a bit of gardening. x


    1. Catherine avatar

      It is! The whole process is conveyed in such a fun and child friendly way 🙂


  6. Carol avatar

    Great introduction to composting for little ones – #MMBC


    1. Catherine avatar

      It really is! I’m quite tempted to get a worm box myself 🙂