Ben Lerwill introduces Wonder World: Earth
About Author
Discover the world beneath our feat in Ben Lerwill's new book, Earth, the first in the Wonder World series.
Ben has been working as a freelance travel writer for over 15 years. His work has appeared in more than 50 national and international publications, from The Sunday Times to National Geographic Traveller.
Ben's passions include the outdoors, music, wildlife, running and reading. He is thrilled that, through children's books, he can share his enthusiasm about the wider world with young readers. He's at his happiest when he's on a long walk and his children haven't yet pinched all the snacks.
Interview
Discover the world beneath our feet in Ben Lerwill's Wonder World: Earth (Nosy Crow)
April 2025
Discover the "biggest and busiest metropolis on the planet" - the ground beneath your feet - and learn how earth is home to billions of creatures underground, and how important it is to our lives above ground, too.
We hear from author Ben Lerwill about Wonder World: Earth, the first in a series of books about Earth's natural elements, illustrated by Xuan Le.
Find out more about Wonder World: Earth.
Review:"A fascinating and enjoyable read. The first in a new series, it is perfect for bringing natural science alive for younger readers."
Ben Lerwill tells ReadingZone what readers will learn about in Wonder World: Earth
"It was a thrill to learn more about everything that's constantly at work in the soil: worms, fungi, microbes, and on, and on.
It's like the biggest and busiest metropolis on the planet - it just happens to be underground!"
1. Thank you for joining us on ReadingZone! Can you start by telling us what kinds of books you enjoy writing? Is it important to you to write about things that interest you?
I love writing about anything that fascinates me. I have a pretty broad range of interests - nature, sport, travel, prehistory, the outdoors, music, trains and pets, to name some of the main ones! - so writing any book on those topics feels more like a joy than a job.
2. Can you tell us about your new non-fiction book, Earth, and what readers will learn about?
The overall aim of the book is to introduce readers to the dark and crumbly wonders of the world beneath our feet. Soil is something a lot of us take for granted, but it's absolutely crawling with life and plays an extraordinarily important role. It's a muddy, magical miracle - and that's what the book sets out to show.
3. How does Earth fit into your new Wonder World series, and what else do you have planned?
Earth is the first of four books in the Wonder World natural science series, which is being published by Nosy Crow in conjunction with the National Trust. The three books that will follow are provisionally titled Water, Air and Sun, so between them they cover off the four elements. Like Earth, all three of these will be illustrated by Xuan Le, whose style is a perfect, playful fit for the subject matter. She's brilliant.
4. Why did you decide to start the book with Earth as the subject, and the first few pages on what Earth the planet is comprised of?
The idea behind the first few spreads was to start with a wide lens - looking at the planet from space - then zoom in ever closer, looking at the different layers that make up the Earth before focusing in on the crust, and the wonders of soil. Hopefully, opening the book like this gives readers some good context and perspective on everything that follows.
5. Was it tricky to make a book about soil interesting? How do Xuan Le's illustrations help bring the text to life?
You'd imagine it might be tricky, but the truth was the opposite! Where nature's concerned, most people are drawn to what's above ground - the birds, the trees, the flowers and so on - so writing about soil felt a bit like telling a forgotten but fascinating story. One teaspoon of healthy soil contains millions of microorganisms.
Xuan's illustrations give the book such a lift. Her use of colour and detail is so varied - it's definitely not just brown, brown, brown! - and she's created two suitably adventurous child characters who lead readers through the book.
6. How did you go about researching what is in soil? Has our understanding of soil changed much in the last few years, and are we still learning new things?
My research mainly involved reading, reading and reading, with occasional forays into the garden with a trowel! And as with everything underpinned by science, whether that's dinosaurs, diseases or deep space, there are some very big brains pioneering new discoveries and theories. The same is definitely true of soil, which in many ways is a world of its own.
7. What kinds of facts did you discover about earth, and what surprised you the most? What are your top three facts about soil that everyone should know?!
It was a thrill to learn more about everything that's constantly at work in the soil: worms, fungi, microbes, and on, and on. It's like the biggest and busiest metropolis on the planet - it just happens to be underground! One of my favourite facts in the book is that there are roughly 400 billion BILLION worms in the soil around the world - thankfully, I didn't have to count them personally.
8. Can you suggest a couple of activities to take what children learn from Wonder World: Earth further?
I'd suggest making a worm farm (following instructions closely from a trustworthy online source) to get a really close look at what makes worms so special. Another great option would be to do a soil survey, by taking several small samples of soil from separate places and seeing how they differ. It's amazing how soil can vary in its texture and composition, even in the same neighbourhood.
9. What other books do you have planned for the series? What are you writing currently?
The remaining three Wonder World books will all strike a similar tone, making natural science accessible and hopefully showing young readers why the things we interact with every day but often give little thought to - namely water, air and sunlight - are far more important to us than anything manmade. (With the possible exception of Marmite on toast. But that's a different book entirely.)
I'm actually working on the text for Water at the moment - along with other books on prehistoric animals, camping, Europe and cats!
10. How do you get out and about to find out about other subjects you might enjoy researching / writing about? Where are your favourite places to visit to find out more about our world?
For the past 20 years or so I've also worked as a travel writer, which has given me the chance to visit all sorts of extraordinary corners of the world. And I learned early on that everywhere (or almost everywhere!) has endless fascinating stories to delve into, whether you're in the middle of a city or deep in a rainforest.
In terms of a favourite place, I get asked that a lot and never really know what to say. But I'll go with somewhere pretty close to home - the wild and wonderful west coast of Scotland.
National Trust: Wonder World: Earth: The Natural Science of Soil
