I clench the loose dirt under me and make as tight a fist as I can. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

Because he was so strong, he could move a lot of dirt quickly. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 2005-04-01T00:00:00Z

Using a toilet brush, I scrubbed my boots and legs to remove obvious patches of dirt. The Hot Zone 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Eat dirt if I told you to,” I said. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

He slammed his blade into the ground, then dumped out another shovelful of dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

She sat on the dirt floor, holding Tidbit close to her. Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Extra gestures are the equivalent of trash, dirt, spots.” Drama High 2013-09-26T00:00:00Z

It wasn’t a shop, really, just a shed in the back of the blacksmith’s house, with a dirt floor and blackened walls hung with hooks and tongs and hundreds of locks and keys. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

At least, I am aware of finding myself cheek down in the dirt. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

It crashed down again and this time the silver teeth ripped across her eyes and her blood splattered the dirt. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

Denna led the way along the dirt track that wound back and forth up the side of the hill, between the trees and the occasional outcrop of worn, dark stone. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

The young soldier grabbed the shovel from him and Hung in the rest of the dirt. The Fighting Ground 1984-04-01T00:00:00Z

Many linger to pass additional condolences on to Lainie, though some move off to seek shelter from the rain before the last of the dirt has settled. The Night Circus 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

She handed him a strip of cloth and a loofah pod to scrape off the dirt. The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm 1994-04-01T00:00:00Z

Quickly, he moved the rocks aside and plunged the trowel into the dirt. Ruby Holler 2002-02-01T00:00:00Z

They cry out, “Mother May I?” and the mothers crawl forward on hands and knees, trying to eat the dirt from their babies’ fresh graves. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

On the other was a dirt and gravel road that led through an open field, treeless, with high yellow grass. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

We usually find a place tucked away far from others, though it’s mostly sand and dirt as far as the eye can see. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

Carmen caught her breath and brushed some dirt from her coat. I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919 2019-09-03T00:00:00Z

The goblet drops to the dirt, making a hollow clanking sound. The Cruel Prince 2018-01-02T00:00:00Z

Where they had been grassy and sloping away gradually, the banks were steeper and cut away, exposing the dirt and mud. The River 1991-06-01T00:00:00Z

Then another appeared, until there were a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt. The Titan's Curse 2007-05-11T00:00:00Z

I spat into the dirt and stumbled forward, blindly reaching out to feel my way when the closeness of the trees allowed the darkness to circle in on me. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

She kept walking around, looking over the boys' shoulders, and sticking her pitchfork through the dirt piles. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

The angry man said, “No! Absolutely not! I don’t want you tracking dirt in my house.” The Last Last-Day-of-Summer 2019-04-02T00:00:00Z

In the garden, we could hear its bustle, the horseshoes on stone cobbles and dirt, the conversation of sailors, the crying of onions and oysters in passageways. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

Due to the heat, they lay so still in the dirt as to look dead. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate 2009-05-12T00:00:00Z

We were playing marbles in the cemetery—there were always good patches of dirt to be found there. Full of Beans 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Have you been eating dirt, I ask him. Mockingbird 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

There are half a dozen spots where scientists, in hard hats, gloves, and safety glasses are down in the rock and dirt, working. Linked 2021-07-20T00:00:00Z

At one end was a small dirt helipad; at the other end, in a rough semicircle, the mess hall and medical hootches overlooked a river called the Song Tra Bong. The Things They Carried 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

“There aren’t any tarantulas around here,” she told me as she raked the dirt ground. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

Instead, the bird never once flapped a wing, plowing back to earth like a shot, causing a minuscule explosion of dust when it smacked into the dirt, breaking its neck. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

These puny trees were growing right out of little patches of dirt in the middle of concrete. The Million Dollar Shot 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

He stood up and carried Toby to the place where the cockpit had sat, now an oval of exposed dirt circled by overgrown grass and leaves. We'll Fly Away 2018-05-08T00:00:00Z

The jar was a little dusty, but I think it’s okay—after all, she pecks around in the dirt all day, and that book said she even eats small rocks. Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer 2015-05-12T00:00:00Z

Foaming at the mouth like a mad dog, writhing in the dirt with wild eyes. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

“You little anticipated I would be packing dirt in redoubts to combat His Majesty’s Army.” The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves 2009-10-13T00:00:00Z

A few escaped to fall onto the dirt, but most of them she kept inside. Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

“Oh yeah. They all survived. They were the safest ones. When you’re little like this, we can just cover you up with dirt, and you’ll be OK.” Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

Both Emma and Charles found that London’s whirl of noise, dirt, crowds, and foggy, smoggy air was getting to be too much for them. Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

He kicked the ground as if it were dirt and not concrete. Bodega Dreams 2000-03-14T00:00:00Z

It begins to drizzle, and the smell of wet dirt fills the air. The Last Cuentista 2021-10-12T00:00:00Z

His throat had been split, and the dirt was dark beneath him. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

Her feet must have leather soles, Dicey thought as they crossed through the vegetable gardens on a dirt path. Homecoming 1981-01-01T00:00:00Z

The trucked veered off the dirt road and into pathless wilderness. Healer of the Water Monster 2021-05-11T00:00:00Z

He halted his horse in a burst of dirt and dust, removed his hat, and with a great sweeping gesture bowed until his head nearly touched the horn of his saddle. The Devil in the White City 2003-02-11T00:00:00Z

We drive on smooth concrete until the driver turns off the highway to lurch over dirt roads. Without Refuge 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

The earth of the floor was brushed in pretty patterns; flowers and vines picked out in dirt to ornament the rude kitchen. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves 2009-10-13T00:00:00Z

On Sunday, Mr. Trepid turned off the main highway and drove down a narrower side road and then onto a bumpy dirt road which led into Ruby Holler. Ruby Holler 2002-02-01T00:00:00Z

I used to think the mountains were made of dirt: heaps of dirt piled high. The Unfinished Angel 2009-09-22T00:00:00Z

The trike rider was indeed lying crumpled in the dirt about ten feet from them. Dactyl Hill Squad 2018-09-11T00:00:00Z

I was going too slow, so Ray grabbed another shovel and punched it into the dirt in front of mine. Everything Sad Is Untrue 2020-08-25T00:00:00Z

Cattle with acidosis stop eating, pant and drool, paw and scratch their bellies, and eat dirt. The Omnivore's Dilemma 2006-04-11T00:00:00Z

That day, I knelt with a bunch of fifth graders as we carefully put seedlings into the ground, patting the dirt into place around the fragile stalks. Becoming 2018-11-13T00:00:00Z

As we walked across the dirt landing strip to await a second flight into Kathmandu, Stuart, Caroline, and I were approached by three ashen-faced Japanese men. Into Thin Air 1996-08-01T00:00:00Z

Maybe if I put my hand through the grass, I would feel a forger sticking out of the dirt—or a hand. The Pigman 1968-10-12T00:00:00Z

Instead of a polished floor, they stood on packed dirt. Aru Shah and the End of Time 2018-03-27T00:00:00Z

The dirt on the hill was soft beneath my feet. Fallen Angels 1988-01-01T00:00:00Z

Reggie picked up a stick and began drawing in the dirt. The Parker Inheritance 2018-03-27T00:00:00Z

The boy spit, kicked his bare foot at the dirt, and said, “I knowed it!” Elijah of Buxton 2007-08-06T00:00:00Z

She bustles about, uprooting dead plants and weeds, and mulching new life into the tired dirt. The Running Dream 2011-01-11T00:00:00Z

Green, gray, black, these cargo trucks sway back and forth on bald tires, spitting out dirt and engine smoke as they roll on. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

It seemed like the longer I sat there, the quieter my head became, the more the aches and knots in my body worked themselves out, leaving me as soft as the dirt under us. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

Soon I grew tired of walking and planting and started dumping beans by the handful, quickly covering them with dirt so Mamita couldn’t see. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

There was a path of sorts, a meandering footpath of cracked stones overgrown with moss, half-buried beneath blown dirt and fallen leaves and made treacherous by thick brown roots pushing up from underneath. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

I’ve traveled nearly twenty miles, and my throat is dry as dirt. An Ember in the Ashes 2015-04-28T00:00:00Z

I drive for over half an hour, hit the dirt road, then go for another half hour. I Am the Messenger 2002-01-10T00:00:00Z

Train cars whipped past as he lay in the dirt, bruised and stunned. Ship Breaker 2010-05-01T00:00:00Z

T. P. put Quentin down and she played in the dirt too. The Sound and the Fury 1929-01-01T00:00:00Z

I wondered as I gripped the hoe, scooping the dirt to one side and then the other, making a gully in the middle. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

They seesawed the stake back and forth to loosen the dirt until they could pull it free. Book Scavenger 2015-06-02T00:00:00Z

Mornings, on our way to school, we hopped over curdled puddles of vomit and fetid urine stains on the dirt. When I Was Puerto Rican 1993-09-20T00:00:00Z

Mama Tataba kicked the dirt with her flat, naked sole and looked disgusted. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

It rained so much that night that the creek flooded into the dirt streets, making the cabins look like they floated on a lake. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

Jacob writhes in the dirt, trying to get some air into his lungs, squirming like a fish in a boat. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

“We should get back to the dirt path and try to find the next mark on this map. Teresita’s husband said the path led to an old abandoned barn. We could rest there.” Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

When at last he reached the point where the path leveled out, he fell hard onto his face, the dirt mixing with his tears. A Single Shard 2001-04-23T00:00:00Z

I make a Gah! sound and kick some dirt at him. The Knife of Never Letting Go 2008-05-05T00:00:00Z

But it does seem to be a driveway, actually, cut into the hard- packed dirt. Paper Towns 2008-10-16T00:00:00Z

I remember his shadow darting in the dirt in front of me. Jazz 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

He dropped to the cool dirt and watched as, below, Gray and his mate emerged from their rests to scent the air, relieve themselves, then set off for food. Pax 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

I wander over to another boulder and kneel in front of it, brushing some loose dirt from its face. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

I dug my sneaker into the dirt, crumpling a patch of brown grass. Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence 2022-03-22T00:00:00Z

It carried an odor of fresh-turned dirt, drawing my attention to the fields where the tractor had only a few hours ago stopped plowing the earth. Black Like Me 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

They fought amidst the grass and dirt and falling ashes beside the dead horse, until his brother rolled on his back in submission, tail tucked low. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

Jack says, “Those are sediments, bud. Just dirt and sand. All natural.” The Sea in Winter 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

Then he started pointing around the graveyard to other body-sized indentations in the dirt. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

The red dirt beneath her feet seemed to hum, and the collective smells around her formed a fragrance of their own. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

Now, outside in the dirt, Papa had him by the throat and would have strangled him, but some other men pulled them apart. Farewell to Manzanar 1973-01-01T00:00:00Z

I brushed the dirt on the ground flat with my brand new shoes and kneeled down. Winger 2013-05-14T00:00:00Z

I remember someone helping to wash the dirt and dust off me, the pain when they cleaned and dressed my burned feet, but not much more. Without Refuge 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

DeeDee and I were unharmed, dirt stained and panting and destined never to be close friends, but at least I’d earned her respect. Becoming 2018-11-13T00:00:00Z

I stare at my worn gray Converse All-Stars and try to scrape off the dirt from one scuffed toe with the other. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

Their faces were brown or gray with dirt. Tasting the Sky 2007-02-20T00:00:00Z

I saw we had ended up on a rutted dirt road near Isteqlal Mid­dle School. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

Now she saw it for the joke it was—a tiny square of dirt that had convinced her she owned something. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

The men used jets of live steam to thaw dirt and prevent newly poured cement from freezing. The Devil in the White City 2003-02-11T00:00:00Z

I was driving the pickup on the dirt lane alongside our orchard when I got arrested again. Schooled 2000-02-29T00:00:00Z

The younger monk used a yellow cloth to wipe dirt from a belt of ammunition. The Things They Carried 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

I walk my bike around the skeletons of dead trees and desiccated vines onto the dirt path into the woods. Love, Hate & Other Filters 2018-01-16T00:00:00Z

They had front porches in identical states of disrepair, tin roofs warped and rusted to a similar dull red hue, and flyblown outhouses in each dirt backyard. The Best of Enemies 1996-04-01T00:00:00Z

I lunged to my feet, wild with scare, and got knocked flat on my face in the dirt. Old Yeller 1956-01-01T00:00:00Z

Tino said to Henry, “You should have been here last night. We must have hauled a ton of dirt from the old grove to the Golden Dawns.” Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

Now it was soft, and dirt had settled into the notches where the pale straw fibers crossed each other, especially in the crown. The Book of Unknown Americans 2014-06-03T00:00:00Z

Like pink snow, the petals fell from the tree and made a soft carpet on the dirt. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z

It tastes like dirt and oil and burns his tongue. The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin) 2012-08-14T00:00:00Z

You could get everything from fence posts to lambing pens to refrigerators dirt cheap. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Here it is,” Brian said, squatting again, moving a stick in the dirt. The River 1991-06-01T00:00:00Z

But on Monday morning, while my friend Malli and I are crossing the dirt yard to our schoolroom, we hear the worst sound ever. Born Behind Bars 2021-09-07T00:00:00Z

He sighs as the stones fall on the dirt in the shapes of new constellations. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

We just stand while the casket is lowered into the ground, and after ten minutes of respectful silence, the gravediggers move up from behind us to begin filling the open hole with dirt. Girl in the Blue Coat 2016-04-05T00:00:00Z

Vanderbilt walked out onto the track with a bucket, burning off a little nervous energy by picking up loose pebbles and clumps of dirt. Seabiscuit: An American Legend 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

Once the pies went in the oven, we helped each other wash a bushel of collard greens straight from the field—we did it three times to get all the bugs and dirt out. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

They were too covered in dirt and rust to be recognizable. The Season of Styx Malone 2018-10-16T00:00:00Z

Before I can say or do anything, Saleem drops my hand and grabs Ayesha’s arm, yanking her out of the line and throwing her into the dirt. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

The policeman brushed the dirt and grass burs off his uniform. Hoot 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

Grandma motioned for the boys to get down in the dirt with her. As Brave As You 2016-05-03T00:00:00Z

Jean wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and left another endearing streak of dirt. Messenger 2004-04-26T00:00:00Z

More dirt spilled from the base of the arrow wound in his throat. Blood of Olympus 2014-10-07T00:00:00Z

My feet that flew over the dirt road a moment ago now feel like lead. Dragons in a Bag 2018-10-23T00:00:00Z

He got only a few yards, when he fumbled and fell in the dirt. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

Something that might be able to grow through the rocks and dirt that his father had piled on him. The Serpent King 2016-03-08T00:00:00Z

Grandma stumbled back, tripping and falling in the dirt. As Brave As You 2016-05-03T00:00:00Z

Cady was bending down to pick a particularly beautiful wild- flower when she saw the plume of dirt curling down Argyle Road. A Tangle of Knots 2013-02-05T00:00:00Z

The dirt lane wound through the jungle and met up with a larger road. A Wish in the Dark 2020-03-24T00:00:00Z

He didn’t notice the grime and dirt, or the long, brawny rats running across the track—he was too elated by the success of his plan. Clayton Byrd Goes Underground 2017-05-09T00:00:00Z

They huddled and scratched their plays in the dirt. Maniac Magee 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

She wiped her hand slowly and calmly over her face, in case there was anything on it—dirt, spit, or blood. Genuine Fraud 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

He went into a long coughing fit, then spit a wad of blood into the dirt. The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin) 2012-08-14T00:00:00Z

Cows under the trees whisked their tails; goats and ducks followed the children here and there; and the chickens scratched in the dirt. The Woman Warrior 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then he started dishing dirt about some of the other teammates. Ghost 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

Wind and dirt slip in the door behind her. A Bird Will Soar 2021-10-19T00:00:00Z

He would think Riptide was still in the dirt behind him. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

Potted plants had been knocked to the ground, and the dirt spilled everywhere. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling 2011-01-25T00:00:00Z

It's hard to get past that, but then he scrapes the mud from his Baltimore soles before he enters a cabin with a dirt floor and I don’t hate him much anymore. Jazz 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

Soon, they were creeping down an infrequently traveled dirt road lined with palmettos and mossy live oaks. The Great Santini 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

They continued past to the campsites, which had fireplaces, water faucets and flat dirt spaces, where a tent could be pitched or a car pulled in. Homecoming 1981-01-01T00:00:00Z

The next night someone will have claimed the plot, she thought, turned the dirt over. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

Then came the critical part . . . checking the dirt. The Martian 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

“There's no moon tonight,” said the first, a boy with laughing blue eyes and dirt on his cheek. How to Disappear Completely 2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

In the middle of the dirt floor there was a large, fairly deep hole covered over with loose boards. Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad 1955-01-01T00:00:00Z

In all this dust and dirt with hardly anything ever coming along that’s shiny and new, a baby does seem like quite an event. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

When it rained, which was almost every day for a while, his dirt roof with sunflowers growing in it leaked. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

I was sitting on the ground with my legs spread in the dirt, holding my head in my hands. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier 2007-02-13T00:00:00Z

Others lowered boxes into those holes, then shoveled dirt over them. Pax 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

In the last photograph, a bulldozer razed the dirt to even the terrain, flattening the landscape like a popped bubble. Little Fires Everywhere 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

His face was florid and smudged with dirt. Hoot 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

Jon shook the dirt from inside it, and a stream of arrowheads fell out. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

Up ahead, at the end of the street, he made out a stretch of red dirt. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

I think of my mother, sweeping up deadly toxins; the way they used to use up old women, in Russia, sweeping dirt. The Handmaid's Tale 1985-01-01T00:00:00Z

It had one small wooden window and dirt floors. Enrique's Journey 2006-02-21T00:00:00Z

The cobblestones are a nice change from the hard-packed dirt roads of the country. Dread Nation 2018-04-03T00:00:00Z

He scooped up some dirt, and was raising it up to the surface when Zigzag's shovel caught him in the side of the head. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

I’m going to move underground with the moles and breathe dirt. I'll Give You the Sun 2014-09-16T00:00:00Z

When I opened them, the dirt path and the trees were still there. Kindred 1979-06-01T00:00:00Z

I footed a line in the dirt, dividing our stall in half. Milkweed 2003-09-09T00:00:00Z

The water turns gray and I feel virtuous because of all the dirt that’s coming out. Cat's Eye 1988-09-01T00:00:00Z

Behind the woman’s small house there was a bare dirt yard, and in the light of the lantern that Con held, they found the woodshed. Huntress 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

He was dribbling his snow cone in the dirt to make a pattern, but most of it stained his shirt. Three Little Words: A Memoir 2007-12-27T00:00:00Z

He walked south on it, then turned onto the dirt lane that led to the lodge. Frightful's Mountain 2001-05-21T00:00:00Z

The problem was that when the dirt was in the ground, it was compacted. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

But after a while he said to him, “Why don’t you try and go after some of that dirt, too?” The Birchbark House 1999-07-21T00:00:00Z

Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt. The Lightning Thief 2005-07-01T00:00:00Z

Then he felt the dirt come piling down on top of it. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

"No, it's not on an island, it used to be on an island, but they filled up the water with dirt and now it joins on to the mainland." The Bell Jar 1963-01-14T00:00:00Z

Jack sat down with a plop in the dirt, blood running down from his nose. Dragonwings 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

Someone kicked me in the side, and I bowed over in the dirt, cupping my hands over my head to protect it. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

The one on the right, with the explosion of toys in the dirt, belongs to Tía Inés and the twins. Merci Suárez Changes Gears 2018-09-11T00:00:00Z

There were some small pieces and bits of paper floating on the surface inside the plane— dirt from the floor of the plane that had floated up—but nothing substantial. Hatchet 1987-01-01T00:00:00Z

They ran, climbed, and dug in the sandy dirt, building sand castles as if they were at the beach. Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers 2017-04-18T00:00:00Z

The night is always perfect here—never too cold, the air smelling of dirt and leaves. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter 2017-10-17T00:00:00Z

I crouched down and scooped up a handful of Texas dirt. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

The heat and the dirt were bad, he said, and there was an added hardness to his life brought on by his weeks of “improper absence,” but Eb accepted it with humility. Across Five Aprils 1964-01-01T00:00:00Z

Off against the horizon he could see a haze, a dark haze, as of dirt stirred into the air. The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

Our patch of dirt sat not far from the southern fence along E Street, where tourists often congregated to gaze up at the White House. Becoming 2018-11-13T00:00:00Z

It stood by the side of the dirt road grazing with a small mountain of gear piled beside it. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

She being the kind that put down newspapers so old Mr. Tate wouldn’t track in dirt on her floors, you can imagine that she wasn’t taking kindly to Miss Love’s music. Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

A mile down this road the mule veered off toward the river, shuffling down a heavily tracked dirt road that ran parallel to a large, plowed-under tomato field. The Great Santini 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

His front hooves raised a few inches off the dirt, as if he’d pondered rearing but thought better of it, then he dropped his head and his paws stilled. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

He scooped it up, then Zigzag dug his shovel into the ground underneath where "Stanley's dirt" had been. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Once I saw him trying to make an ant colony, filling a mason jar with dirt. Ninth Ward 2010-08-16T00:00:00Z

Each spring the dark Nicholtown dirt is filled with the promise of what the earth can give back to you if you work the land plant the seeds pull the weeds. Brown Girl Dreaming 2014-08-28T00:00:00Z

Her braids have dirt in them, and her once-fat cheeks are sunken. The Hate U Give 2017-02-28T00:00:00Z

Our neighborhood is at the end of a dirt road that most people think is a driveway. Shouting at the Rain 2019-05-07T00:00:00Z

“I’d sooner eat dirt,” he said with a look of indignation. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

Back in his office, he wept; and when he finished weeping he washed the blood from his mouth and nose, scrubbed the dirt from the abrasions on his cheek and forehead, and summoned Sergeant Towser. Catch-22 1961-11-10T00:00:00Z

We hold hands rough with dirt as we walk back to the Agloe General Store. Paper Towns 2008-10-16T00:00:00Z

The men jump from the tailgate, hoofing up dust when they hit the dirt. The Help 2009-02-10T00:00:00Z

My clothes were dirty, my crapes were rotten, and my body was sticky with dirt. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier 2007-02-13T00:00:00Z

His gun slid out of his hand and spun across the hard dirt to land at my feet. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

Randy and Tony stood together, pouring sweat, keeping perfect pace with the adults shoveling dirt. Stella by Starlight 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

And me and Rondell laying on the dirt like bums, no money and no place to go and our stomachs full on the last food we’d be able to pay for. We Were Here 2009-10-05T00:00:00Z

Nali sighed and parked the truck on the side of the dirt road. Healer of the Water Monster 2021-05-11T00:00:00Z

Every night for a month, when I came in from the junkyard, I’d spend an hour scrubbing grime from my fingernails and dirt from my ears. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

By the time midafternoon arrived, Thomas was ready to collapse from exhaustion—all that bending over and crawling around on your knees in the dirt was the pits. The Maze Runner 2009-10-06T00:00:00Z

He flipped the chart to show an enlargement of a dirty hand, the tips of the fingernails encrusted with dirt. When I Was Puerto Rican 1993-09-20T00:00:00Z

When I finished patting down the dirt, I took the gloves off and folded them. The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora 2017-05-16T00:00:00Z

I’d stab my shovel in, pull up on the dirt, and toss my shovelful over my shoulder. We Were Here 2009-10-05T00:00:00Z

A long shadow moved, and a pile of leaves shifted as the dirt beneath it flowed up. Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

Håkon, unencumbered with a bag at all, took time to investigate every tree they passed, every little puddle, every mound of dirt. Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

We sat in the dirt or on the mats near the stove. Dragonwings 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

His face was set hard in an attempt to regain his equilibrium, when he pulled off the main highway and stopped on a dirt road that led into the jungle. Black Like Me 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

Why bother with the coffin, the awning or any of it if they were just going to dump him, shovel the dirt in, go home? The Secret History 1992-10-16T00:00:00Z

Grandpa asked as we turned down their dirt lane. Three Little Words: A Memoir 2007-12-27T00:00:00Z

The rats now commenced to dig busily at the dirt on top of and around Mrs. Frisby’s cinder block. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH 1970-06-01T00:00:00Z

They suck on their knuckles and brush the dirt from their uniforms. The Boy Who Dared 2008-02-01T00:00:00Z

The damp dirt turns quickly to mud and the remainder of the burial is hastened to accommodate the weather. The Night Circus 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

Picking up a branch, she draws circles, squares, and crude pictures of our hut in the dirt. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

She tried to answer, but wound up coughing savagely instead, and he forced her face down in the dirt before she could manage another breath. Uglies 2005-02-08T00:00:00Z

Narrow dirt paths link one village with another all over Southern Sudan. Lost Boy, Lost Girl 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

They didn’t pay any attention to me but continued wailing and kicking against the dirt. When I Was Puerto Rican 1993-09-20T00:00:00Z

At night, Horan and the other men rolled out their poncho liners—thin, quilted nylon blankets that provided a little warmth—and slept on the packed dirt floor of a hut. Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam 2018-04-10T00:00:00Z

She drove the car and trailer on paved and dirt roads between Norfolk, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, and North Carolina. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

The road turns from dirt to paved and still no one out and about. The Knife of Never Letting Go 2008-05-05T00:00:00Z

In the center of the previously empty arena, a swirling tornado of stone gray and loamy black whipped up gusts of frigid air and threw stinging clouds of arena dirt into Anya’s face. Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

Ugwu watched her too, until they turned into the dirt road. Half of a Yellow Sun 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

If the doña insists on going, she can take that dirt road up ahead and then cross over onto the road that is paved all the way to the coffee barns. How the García Girls Lost Their Accents 1991-01-04T00:00:00Z

I dug my toes down into the dirt to make Ma quit walking so’s I could get a better look. Elijah of Buxton 2007-08-06T00:00:00Z

She makes us stand by the bed to see if we left rings of dirt around our necks and if we did it’s back down to the tap and the damp shirt. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir 1996-09-05T00:00:00Z

He looks pleased, though, smiling at me as if he’d found a rough ruby lying in the dirt. The Cruel Prince 2018-01-02T00:00:00Z

The ground under his left foot, the one closest to the void, crumbled and sent a shower of stone and dirt into the darkness. Gregor the Overlander 2003-09-01T00:00:00Z

I threw in little clumps of dirt that broke up as soon as they met the water. The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora 2017-05-16T00:00:00Z

She didn’t even hear the dirt scatter beneath her as she scrabbled backward. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

Cars had taken up every inch of the dirt road running through Abba. Purple Hibiscus 2003-10-01T00:00:00Z

But I seemed to be the first person to walk on these unnamed dirt streets in years. Paper Towns 2008-10-16T00:00:00Z

When we arrived at the beach, she walked immediately down the dirt path and over to the end of the reef ledge, where I had seen Bing disappear. The Joy Luck Club 1989-01-01T00:00:00Z

It looks to be abandoned, the second-floor windows covered in a thick layer of dirt. Dread Nation 2018-04-03T00:00:00Z

For some reason, eating the same dirt twice didn’t appeal to him. Artemis Fowl 2001-04-26T00:00:00Z

The dirt under her nails, the healing scars on her hands, the ache in her shoulders and back from digging Pol’s grave. Huntress 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

They had been chasing our cars down the dirt road. Purple Hibiscus 2003-10-01T00:00:00Z

His face was twisted with pain and streaked with tears and dirt, but he wasn’t crying aloud. Kindred 1979-06-01T00:00:00Z

The wind picked up then, and the dry dirt whipped up from the ground and passed over them in a cloud. An Abundance of Katherines 2006-09-21T00:00:00Z

I go down at night and water the dirt to keep it from blowing again. Counting by 7s 2013-08-29T00:00:00Z

She holds it loosely, resting its end on the hard dirt. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

Right in the middle of the floor there was a big black stain in the dirt! Bud, Not Buddy 1999-09-02T00:00:00Z

They walked through the Smoke, past cook fires being extinguished with shovelfuls of dirt; windows coming alight with candles and electric bulbs; and a handful of young uglies pursuing an escaped chicken. Uglies 2005-02-08T00:00:00Z

The dirt at her feet had a story, the oldest story Cora knew. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

My family who has only themselves and dirt and corn. Beast Rider 2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

Beyond the fence, a dirt trail led into the darkness. Shadowshaper 2015-06-30T00:00:00Z

It was a heavy, unwelcome downpour that turned the dirt road into a muddy mess. Huntress 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

Skulls in helmets stuck out of the dirt. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge 2018-09-25T00:00:00Z

Then, when his thirst was quenched, he swam about in the remaining water, washing all the dust and dirt out of his fur. The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa 2004-12-07T00:00:00Z

I was intensely aware of where I sat, the volume of darkness I displaced, the shiny- smooth span of packed dirt between us, and the shocking separateness from me in my mama’s eyes. Grendel 1971-01-01T00:00:00Z

We only had to feel the shovel moving the dirt. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 2005-04-01T00:00:00Z

“Last, but most important: make sure you always leave a gift for the person whose grave you get the dirt from, as payment. Otherwise, it’s stealing.” Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

Then he pointed us to the back of an old run-down pickup and drove us down a bunch of dirt roads toward their work site. We Were Here 2009-10-05T00:00:00Z

Under the nails is the dirt of the trenches, it shows through blue-black like poison. All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel 1929-01-01T00:00:00Z

I set my plate in the dirt and looked at Tommy’s fat face. We Were Here 2009-10-05T00:00:00Z

Removed and replaced every bit of dirt just so, in hopes that they might take root in this place. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

Tidbit spoke to the dirt he dug his fingers into. Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

I pick up a twig from the dirt under the bush behind me and trace the cracks in the bricks. A High Five for Glenn Burke 2020-02-25T00:00:00Z

She smelled of leaves and dirt and...she sniffed...and whiskey! Stella by Starlight 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

Her T-shirt was covered with grass and dirt stains, like she’d just run through a swirling Gaea. The House of Hades 2013-10-08T00:00:00Z

Other trucks headed back along the many primitive dirt roads that led to National Forest land where permit cattle grazed. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

I saw a spray of blood hit the dirt, and it was more than I could take. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

Each one of the family members in turn threw a handful of dirt into the grave after saying goodbye. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

The prop wash peppered me with stinging bits of loose dirt and small gravel, but no big rocks. Dead End in Norvelt 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

It was about fifteen feet tall, and it was growing in an enormous plastic tub full of black dirt that was almost as wide as the trailer. Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

We tossed mounds of dirt on that weird sleeping bag. Kira-Kira 2004-02-01T00:00:00Z

Horan’s team was sent to one of the new fortified villages north of Saigon, reached by a narrow, pothole-filled dirt road, barely passable in their open jeep. Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam 2018-04-10T00:00:00Z

I pulled it from the dirt and brushed it off. Milkweed 2003-09-09T00:00:00Z

The sheriff steps down from the boardwalk into the hard-packed dirt of the street, standing behind me. Dread Nation 2018-04-03T00:00:00Z

Instead of going inside for dinner, the children had clung to their pretend dishes of dirt. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z

Most of the time I’d play in the dirt surrounding the trees that had pushed their way through the hard surface of the playground. Ugly 2013-08-20T00:00:00Z

The happy hens scrabbled in the dirt for bugs and worms. Habibi 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

His ear was in ribbons and there was any amount of dirt in it. Watership Down: A Novel 1972-01-01T00:00:00Z

Fern pushed the straw aside in the center of the run to reveal patches of grass but mostly dirt. Gone Crazy in Alabama 2015-04-21T00:00:00Z

The water soon turned brown with weeks of dirt and sweat. Fever 1793 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

I wanted to find a rag and wipe that stuff off her face, the way she wiped off the dirt and grime that collected on mine. When I Was Puerto Rican 1993-09-20T00:00:00Z

There were no houses or buildings as far as I could see, only wheat-colored fields patchy with dirt and cracked wooden telephone poles with drooping black wires strung between them. The Book of Unknown Americans 2014-06-03T00:00:00Z

Brad tackles him, shoving his face into the dirt, saying, “You’re it, goober.” Free Lunch 2019-09-10T00:00:00Z

A hockey chest pad, lying in the dirt, cracked through the center, peppered with holes. Little Fires Everywhere 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

He dug with his hands until he found the leather handle, and then he pulled the suitcase up and out of the dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

The sandstone and dirt they had taken from inside the mesa was piled in mounds, in long rows, like fresh graves. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

Beyond the bridge, the dirt path abandoned the banks of the Dudh Kosi and zigzagged up the steep canyon wall, ascending through aromatic stands of pine. Into Thin Air 1996-08-01T00:00:00Z

We slapped each other with the muddy mix of dirt, water, and chicken feed. The Red Umbrella 2010-04-25T00:00:00Z

Inside Cliff’s house, the electric-blue and white walls were darkened with smudges of oil and dirt. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

A few rows over, my cousins Zoyla and Gregoria were pulling weeds and wiping the sweat from their foreheads, crisscrossing their faces with streaks of dirt. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

And then her foot hit something and she went flying into the dirt. Breadcrumbs 2011-09-27T00:00:00Z

Yoren stripped him of his valuables before they threw the dirt on him. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

Down the dirt path, they could see a skinny boy followed by several young girls who seemed to be comforting him. Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

There is no way of identifying dirt, of course, but we all knew it must come from Uncles own little cup of soil that he had brought back after one of his trips to home. Dragonwings 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

They are special because everyone tries very hard not to allow even one speck of dirt to enter the room. Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

The raised dirt path that wound around the island was bolstered by bags of sand to prevent any more of the shore from disappearing into the water. Tiger Boy 2015-10-01T00:00:00Z

“The young eagle tucked his head in his wings and scratched in the dirt sorrowfully. The mama chicken walked in that funny chicken strut over to him. ‘ Stella by Starlight 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

I finally squirmed away from her, feeling as wet as a dirt dauber’s nest. Where the Red Fern Grows 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

I couldn’t see him, only hear him, smell the scent of old sweat, and dirt, and sour breath. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

She had butterfly barrettes in her hair, and her sneakers didn’t have one speck of dirt on them. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

Maybe she was still on the island, after all these years, old as dirt but sustained by a few of her wards, children who’d grown up but never left. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 2011-06-07T00:00:00Z

A short sidewalk led over to the blacktopped driveway, and both the sidewalk and the blacktop were just as crumbly as the porch, with large patches of rocks and dirt showing through. The Strangers 2019-04-02T00:00:00Z

As soon as her feet hit the packed dirt of the road, a bleat from behind made her halt. Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

Under the dirt, lacing her coal-black skin, were traces of bad things; like tobacco juice, brine and a craftsman’s sense of play. Jazz 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

“It was so full of grease and dirt and sticks and boxes,” he thought, that it looked like a big, wide, dirty street, except in some places, where it boiled up. A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 2018-01-02T00:00:00Z

Anya paused for a moment, then whacked the dirt bars of the cage away. Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

I saw a girl thrown out of her cabin and into the dirt, only to be yanked up by her hair. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

“Such an introduction to New York,” said Tucker, “to land in a pile of dirt in the Times Square subway station. Tsk, tsk, tsk.” The Cricket in Times Square 1960-01-01T00:00:00Z

It doesn’t take long to run out of paved road, and soon I’m driving down a narrow dirt trail, looking up, which is what Myra told me to do. All The Bright Places 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

Tasting the dirt in my mouth, I imagined it to be the soot of the mines. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

She walks back out, now holding a pair of blue jeans, knees stained with grass and dirt, blood caked around the ankles, pockets torn with holes and unraveling. Where Things Come Back 2011-05-03T00:00:00Z

So while I scribbled in the red dirt, Gus whistled and hoed. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

My mother says frequently that she doesn’t give a hoot about clothes, but this indifference does not extend to holes, frayed edgs, or dirt. Cat's Eye 1988-09-01T00:00:00Z

To get to it, one took a rutted, uphill dirt track that branched off the main road between Herat and Gul Daman. A Thousand Splendid Suns 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z

When I brush away more of the rocks and dirt, I see that the metal is lodged deep in the bank, so that it's probably what's holding the bank up in the first place. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

A hot wind blew trash and dirt through the abandoned stalls. Fever 1793 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Memories of Ucho thrusting a stick in my side, of Ucho leading other boys as they screeched ugly words to my face, of Ucho throwing dirt at me, crowded about my mind. The Ugly One 2013-06-11T00:00:00Z

The cellar smelled of dirt and musty air and this year’s apples. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

She groaned as she landed in the dirt, the wind knocked from her body. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

He had been going for ten minutes when he saw Mace’s head on the grass by a pile of dirt. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

The wind from the chopper sent pieces of sand and dirt into my face, and I just wanted to lay down. Fallen Angels 1988-01-01T00:00:00Z

The tips of the claw marks dug deep into the loose dirt. Healer of the Water Monster 2021-05-11T00:00:00Z

The ground crews, which had to replace twenty-four dirt- clogged aircraft engines in twenty-one days, resorted to spraying oil on the taxiways to keep the dust down. Unbroken 2010-11-16T00:00:00Z

The tiny green faces said nothing, the tiny green eyes stared up at him as the dirt fell upon them. Wringer 1997-08-16T00:00:00Z

My eyes are the color of dirt, almost copper if I am standing in the sun. Krik? Krak! 2015-12-15T00:00:00Z

There were purple shadows beneath her eyes, and there was a smudge of dirt on her cheek. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Go ahead and tell me it’s not dirt.” The Great Santini 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

When my turn came, I handed my buckets to the ancient slave who worked the pump handle, a man old as dirt, with stone-gray hair and skin the color of the night sky. Chains 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

The route went steeply up to a lonesome pass where there was a dirt parking lot. A Walk in the Woods 1997-11-01T00:00:00Z

She licked her thumb and wiped a smudge of dirt off my cheek. Fever 1793 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Before he could roll away, another crushing paw shoved his face into the dirt. Touching Spirit Bear 2001-01-09T00:00:00Z

I’m in the dirt, again, shoulder against the tree, the shock of air so cold it seizes my bones. Tradition 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z

The pavement turned to dirt, then roads turned into paths, and dwellings grew increasingly forlorn and miserable. Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

A bare toe dug into the dirt of the roadway. The Witch of Blackbird Pond 1958-12-01T00:00:00Z

Didn’t seem right for anyone to die over lousy old dirt. Worth 1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

That was the easy part, riding down to dump my dirt on the levee. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

The building pushes out into an L shape, and the empty section is the dark one around the back, in a patch of frozen dirt. The Light in Hidden Places 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

In the morning, the path had been only dirt covered in fallen pine needles, but by midmorning, the pine needles were swept away, and by noon the horses stepped onto pavement. Huntress 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

When we reached the first of Grampa’s fields, I steered the truck onto a dirt road and let it roll to a stop alongside the edge of the cotton rows. Mississippi Trial, 1955 2002-05-27T00:00:00Z

Through the film of dirt, I could vaguely make out stacks of boxes and what looked like old props. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

He pushes in the door and climbs the stairs to Italy just as Alphie crawls out from under the bed covered with marmalade and dirt. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir 1996-09-05T00:00:00Z

He sat on the ground, his feet bare, his linsey-woolsey blouse veined with dirt, his dark face caked with mud. The Fighting Ground 1984-04-01T00:00:00Z

As the pile of dirt grows bigger, I keep thinking, I’m never going to stay up late reading again. Finding Langston 2018-08-14T00:00:00Z

The boy traces a circle in the dirt. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

We pull into a dirt lot filled with cars and people and Christmas trees. Free Lunch 2019-09-10T00:00:00Z

During the day, Shin followed teams of teenage thieves to the outskirts of the city, looking for isolated houses with telltale mounds of dirt in their gardens. Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West 2013-03-26T00:00:00Z

“I’ve already dug enough dirt to last one lifetime,” said X-Ray. Small Steps 2006-01-10T00:00:00Z

An hour later they had reached the end of the street the pocha had pointed out, and they turned onto a dirt road. Lupita Mañana 1981-03-21T00:00:00Z

Rachel had the driver turn down this unpromising dirt road. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

They carried Harley to the truck; his legs dragged behind him, wobbling and leaving long toe marks in the dirt. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

Downed trees lay across the path every fifty or sixty yards, often with great bomb craters of dirt around their splayed roots. A Walk in the Woods 1997-11-01T00:00:00Z

So Jinny stepped into their cabin, shook the dirt from her feet, and sat on the edge of her bed. Orphan Island 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

At the end of the road, I found a single concrete foundation dug into the dirt. Paper Towns 2008-10-16T00:00:00Z

The queer aunt whom his sixth-grade schoolmates teased him about and whom he hated because he felt personally responsible for her ugliness, her poverty, her dirt, and her wine. Song of Solomon 1977-01-01T00:00:00Z

She gathered some dirt in her hand and scattered it in the breeze. Hollow City 2014-01-14T00:00:00Z

Armpit picked up his shovel and began filling in the dirt around the pipe. Small Steps 2006-01-10T00:00:00Z

She dropped her duffel bag, right in the dirt, and when Cady looked up, she saw that the woman was staring at her. A Tangle of Knots 2013-02-05T00:00:00Z

The Mexicans follow, up a steep embankment, along a well-worn dirt path, past mesquite bushes and behind some tamarind trees, until they are next to a large, round, flat tank. Enrique's Journey 2006-02-21T00:00:00Z

He had built a tin-roofed room at the back of his property, no more than a shack, with a dirt floor, no heat, no electricity, no running water. Long Walk to Freedom 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

“It’s very old,” he said, “and there’s dirt in where the ruby sits, but the gold hasn’t gone green like buried brass would have. Or bronze.” Beyond the Bright Sea 2017-05-02T00:00:00Z

Then she threw in a fistful of dirt, for good measure. The Lemonade War 2007-04-23T00:00:00Z

From their parking spot at the end of the dirt road, just inside the gates, she can see Martinsdale Colony. A Heart in a Body in the World 2018-09-18T00:00:00Z

When they reach the terrace, Celia glances back at the garden, where the roses and lanterns have reverted to dirt and stone. The Night Circus 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

When I brushed the dirt from the lid and opened it, I saw first the whiteness of her gloves, then the photograph wrapped in waxed paper, just as I’d left it. The Secret Life of Bees 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

I went back down the steps and walked across their flat dirt yard, past several outbuildings and the huge grain silos, to the first of four long chicken houses. Red Kayak 2004-09-23T00:00:00Z

A wooden crate stands between two upholstered chairs, soiled with dirt, stuffing coming out of split seams, and a threadbare gold sofa. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

All I have to do is keep the dirt hidden and walk arm in arm with her into the sunset. Speak 1999-10-01T00:00:00Z

It was extremely hard work, and I was only strong enough to remove a little bit of dirt at a time. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 2005-04-01T00:00:00Z

As soon as he hit the dirt, Toby felt a surge of power go through him. We'll Fly Away 2018-05-08T00:00:00Z

The woman will never find the old house behind the hedge of towering hibiscus at the bend of the dirt road. In the Time of the Butterflies 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

The image of Zero crawling across the hot dry dirt remained in his head. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Nhamo found nothing alarming in the dirt around the thatching grass. A Girl Named Disaster 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

And when the picture was finished, you didn’t see the dirt or the meanness; you saw the glory of innocence and the poignancy of a baby growing up too soon. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 1943-01-01T00:00:00Z

I hit the ground so hard and sudden that my mouth came open and I swallowed a bunch of dirt and old dead leafs. Elijah of Buxton 2007-08-06T00:00:00Z

All around us, families are lying down on the ground with no mats or blankets separating them from the dirt. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

They turn down a long dirt road in the middle of a forest, dense with hemlock and birch. The Namesake 2003-09-01T00:00:00Z

My heart takes off—*FWOOOM*—like the hooves of a dozen horses thumping against the dirt of a derby track. Odd One Out 2018-08-09T00:00:00Z

I prepped the tables and bunks for holding the weight of soil, and even put the dirt in place. The Martian 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Here, there’s so much dirt that you could probably plant fifty bean seeds and no one would even notice. Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer 2015-05-12T00:00:00Z

And then his dactyl let out a shriek and crumpled, tumbling through a sudden explosion of dirt. Dactyl Hill Squad 2018-09-11T00:00:00Z

“Nothing much there but bugs and gators and a few folks scraping the dirt to make do. My mother is dead. My father as well.” Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

“We’re just going to throw some dirt on him before the party starts.” 145th Street: Short Stories 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

If he kept walking in a new direction, he also might come across a dirt road. Healer of the Water Monster 2021-05-11T00:00:00Z

I scraped off the lint and the dirt. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

I dig my fingers into the dirt and squeeze. Speak 1999-10-01T00:00:00Z

On the way he pointed to the outhouse that sat at the end of the dirt lot. Dragonwings 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

She knew and liked the damp earthy smell of the dirt floor, even though they slept on the floor, huddled under thin ragged blankets, aware of the chill. Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad 1955-01-01T00:00:00Z

Though dead and drained of blood, its body shakes violently in the dirt. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

My brother, choking on dirt, cursed me, but still he held fast to the animal. Ophelia 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z

Most of the villagers were smudged with soot and dirt, and others were all wet. Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

Fresh dirt should be strewn around every room to a depth of two inches, he wrote, and that dirt should be changed every day. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 2003-06-23T00:00:00Z

Becoming more nervous, Lupita tried to rub the field dirt off her face with her jacket sleeve. Lupita Mañana 1981-03-21T00:00:00Z

Otto worked at concealing the power cables in the grass and dirt. The Last Last-Day-of-Summer 2019-04-02T00:00:00Z

The mysterious newcomer sputtered dirt out of his mouth as he shook his head back and forth, and dirt puffed out of his dark hair like a cloud. Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

We’re cleaning up because Mr. Woodwell has been invited to supper and Dad says it don’t matter if the old man is halfway blind, he still knows dirt from dirt. The Young Man and the Sea 2004-02-01T00:00:00Z

They were all crouched on the dirt floor around the playing cards and glowing tobacco ends. Code Name Verity 2012-05-15T00:00:00Z

Sigurd’s mount had left deep hoof prints in the dirt of the road, heading north. Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

When they can’t do that, they run up and down the dirt road behind our wall, the perimeter road. Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

But then someone tackled him from behind; he dropped the burning log and landed face- first in the dirt. The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin) 2012-08-14T00:00:00Z

I hear the clean snap of his bones as they break on impact, watch blood seep into the dirt around him. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

I filled it With wet dirt, This upside-down turtle, This slaughterhouse For chiles and tomatoes, The thousand sheets of onion. Neighborhood Odes 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

He emptied the box and picked up a handful of dirt from the middle of the unpaved road. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

The lumps and burrows in the dirt were a reminder to all who walked by. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

“He didn’t take it because it’s older than dirt,” Delia said. Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

Finally she snuck around to the front of the house, feet sinking in the soft dirt. Typical American 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

“I heard one of your own people threw dirt on you,” he says. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

I kick through the trash and the rocks and the dirt. All The Bright Places 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

We sleep on the damp dirt floor, wrapped in mildewed blankets so rough they could be used to scrape bark off logs. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

The dirt came off, although the ridges were stained with vegetable matter. The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm 1994-04-01T00:00:00Z

The singer's hand came crawling out from beneath the dead animal, scrabbling in the dirt like a spider with five legs. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

“I haven’t showed you how to pay for graveyard dirt yet,” he said. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

A curtain of thinner tendrils hangs down from it, like a scraggly beard clotted with dirt. The Cruel Prince 2018-01-02T00:00:00Z

He took a jackknife out of his pocket and dug a little scoop of dirt out of one of the tracks. Elijah of Buxton 2007-08-06T00:00:00Z

I picture my mother’s face streaked with tears and dirt, my father bowing his head in defeat. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter 2017-10-17T00:00:00Z

He ran after her, keeping to the softer dirt on the side of the road. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

There were small holes in the dirt, holes where snakes and scorpions hid. When I Was Puerto Rican 1993-09-20T00:00:00Z

Mom drove slowly up the dirt road, away from the marina. Flush 2005-09-13T00:00:00Z

Here it was the middle of February and I hadn’t set one fence post or plowed one foot of dirt. Hattie Big Sky 2006-09-26T00:00:00Z

I watch myself drag Gavin Rose into the bush and beat him down to the grass, the dirt, and the fallen tree branches. I Am the Messenger 2002-01-10T00:00:00Z

I followed, carefully counting out three smooth beans and letting them fall into each hole and patting dirt on top. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Right now I want to know about this big city. You two never write me any dirt. Aunty, I’m depending on you to give me a year’s news in fifteen minutes.” Go Set a Watchman: A Novel 2015-07-14T00:00:00Z

Not one dirt clod more than necessary had been removed from the earth. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

It was as I was drifting off to sleep that night that I heard the crunching of car tires on dirt and rocks outside our house. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

That was the night he dragged her home by her hair through the cornfield, her face bouncing and bashing against rocks and dirt. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

There were holes everywhere, and of course the mounds of dirt dug up alongside them. Beyond the Bright Sea 2017-05-02T00:00:00Z

When she was done, Princesse got up and walked away, leaving the blank faces in the dirt for the next curious voyeur to add a stroke to. Krik? Krak! 2015-12-15T00:00:00Z

Then the scratchy towels and the dreadful and humiliating absence of dirt. The Bluest Eye 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

She stared at the dirt, her eyes glossy, her lips pursed. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

Ignoring the dirt caking my fingernails, trying to forget that these were a stranger’s leftovers, I stuck a sweet in my mouth. The Bridge Home 2019-02-05T00:00:00Z

He scrabbled in the dirt, cramming handfuls of wine-impregnated clay into his cavernous mouth. Artemis Fowl 2001-04-26T00:00:00Z

I steered my new-old bike down the dirt road in a daze, which is maybe why I didn’t notice the ambulance pulled up in our driveway until I was standing beside it. Hope Springs 2021-08-10T00:00:00Z

Joe bit his lip and wrote a few more obscenities in the dirt. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

"And a jolly good one. He says we're all so covered with bugs anyway that a bit of extra dirt never hurts anyone." Matilda 1988-10-01T00:00:00Z

I plucked the silly button off his shirt, dumped it in the hole I was digging, and covered it over with dirt. Crash 1996-03-19T00:00:00Z

She felt the shovel jab into her back, and she fell onto hard dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Diego sat on the rusted hood and traced lines in the dirt, while I kicked at the gravel on the side of the road. We Are the Ants 2016-01-19T00:00:00Z

He got out a stick and drew a map in the dirt. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge 2018-09-25T00:00:00Z

Twinkle grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and began wiping away the dirt staining the statue’s brow. Interpreter of Maladies 1999-05-22T00:00:00Z

The handmade brick of the house kilned out of the dirt it stood on. The Road 2006-09-28T00:00:00Z

We walked on the dirt road over the bridge and back to the school’s barn, a dilapidated leak-prone structure that looked more like a long-abandoned log cabin than a barn. Looking for Alaska 2005-03-03T00:00:00Z

I’m half expecting it to be empty, but instead, right up on the dirt next to us is a big ol’ wriggling fish. King and the Dragonflies 2020-02-04T00:00:00Z

Dallas kicked at the dirt with his boot. Ruby Holler 2002-02-01T00:00:00Z

The two ran onward, gray with dust and dirt. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge 2018-09-25T00:00:00Z

“Can’t go,” he mumbled, still kicking his toe in the dirt. Red Kayak 2004-09-23T00:00:00Z

Jockey sat in his maple chair, tapping his bare feet on the dirt. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

Lily is all trees and dirt sliced into circles by curved roads. Where Things Come Back 2011-05-03T00:00:00Z

He gathered some boards scattered beneath the house, stood them on their sides so no one could see him, and lay in the dirt. Enrique's Journey 2006-02-21T00:00:00Z

He said, “Oh,” then kicked a little more dirt and hollered out, “Ooh, boy! Look at how fat that there is!” The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

The woman dropped her clothespins and laundry right there in the dirt and, without saying anything, ran for her car. The Glass Castle 2005-03-01T00:00:00Z

Gabriel’s curly hair was matted and filthy, and there were tearstains outlined in dirt on his pale cheeks. The Giver 1993-04-01T00:00:00Z

I blink and blink and blink, but I don’t dare look up from the dirt and grass. King and the Dragonflies 2020-02-04T00:00:00Z

He lifted a gunnysack curtain, rubbed a peephole in the thick coating of dirt, and peered through. The Egypt Game 1967-01-01T00:00:00Z

Instead he had a dirt floor, a pile of grass for his bed, a muddy buffalo, and a secretive friend. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z

There wasn’t one blade of grass in that yard, just dirt and rocks, with sprinkles of color here and there. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

Still, he pretended otherwise and kept adding more dirt to the piles, piles that he would eventually have to move. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

It was so hot you could smell the heat baking the stones and dirt along the bank. Walk Two Moons 1994-06-30T00:00:00Z

Kyle half expected him to start scratching the toe of his shoe at the dirt, searching for chicken feed. Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics 2016-01-05T00:00:00Z

“What you talking about? I like my own dirt, Nellie. I’m not proud. You sure have forgotten me.” Sula 1973-11-01T00:00:00Z

Gradually the dirt that had collected on the insect fell away. The Cricket in Times Square 1960-01-01T00:00:00Z

She wants us to sink below the basement into the warm crawly dirt, where Cassie has a room waiting, so the three of us can curl into critter balls and wait for spring. Wintergirls 2009-03-19T00:00:00Z

There was always a space, a small one, between the wooden floor and the dirt below. Prisoner B-3087 2013-03-01T00:00:00Z

As its face disappeared beneath the dirt, the warrior seemed to grin at the last name—or maybe that was just its skeletal teeth showing. The Son of Neptune 2011-10-04T00:00:00Z

Now riding on her knees, gripping the board with both hands, Tally twisted into the next turn, dropping to skim just above the cracked dirt of the dry creek bed. Uglies 2005-02-08T00:00:00Z

They walked along the dirt path, continuing to hold hands. Small Steps 2006-01-10T00:00:00Z

He found himself surrounded by dirt and debris. Stormbreaker 2000-09-04T00:00:00Z

The woman stood in front of the gas heater and picked the dirt from under her thumbnail with the third finger of her other hand. Black Like Me 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

He wasn’t staring at me either, he was kind of looking down and kicking at the dirt with his raggedy shoes. The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

The other three men had run in a panic down the dirt road they had come in on. The Great Santini 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

The dirt road curved, and trees blocked the sight of the University’s buildings behind us. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

Running clumsily across the dirt street, Sullivan made his way directly to the barn. The Great Fire 1995-04-01T00:00:00Z

I remember falling on my hands in the dirt and laughing, totally unlike myself. The Cruel Prince 2018-01-02T00:00:00Z

The place had been cleared of plants, leaving a packed dirt floor. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

The single-track dirt road had deep wagon ruts, and it like to jolted us to pieces. Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

It feels so cool and dry, so different from the dirt in the jail yard. Born Behind Bars 2021-09-07T00:00:00Z

If it were thick on the ground we would roll in it, like dogs in dirt. Cat's Eye 1988-09-01T00:00:00Z

It wasn’t even recognizable as a restroom anymore—there was just a gaping hole piled up with dirt and bricks. While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement 2011-02-01T00:00:00Z

There were dirt beads on his sweaty neck and an oil stain on his face. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter 1940-07-29T00:00:00Z

Baird drove down the long dirt road, tall grass on either side. A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age 2014-09-23T00:00:00Z

The truck was backing along the driveway, kicking up dirt. The Secret Life of Bees 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Giving people medicine for TB and not giving them food is like washing your hands and drying them in the dirt,” went one Haitian saying. Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

We carried slingshots that we used *Sneakers. to stone birds and chase the monkeys that tried to cross the main dirt road. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier 2007-02-13T00:00:00Z

Once I finished eating I slunk back to my room to put on my work clothes, which were stiff with dirt. Dead End in Norvelt 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

When we finally reach a wide patch of solid ground, I nearly kiss the dirt in thankfulness. An Ember in the Ashes 2015-04-28T00:00:00Z

Therefore it was always a relief, every afternoon, to march out the Academy’s back door and across a dirt parking lot to the gym for Physical Training. Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

And in the same world of peoples there are other peoples who have to crawl in the dirt scrounging for a measly piece of garbage to eat. The Unfinished Angel 2009-09-22T00:00:00Z

Ancient farmers might seem to us dirt poor, but a typical family possessed more artefacts than an entire forager tribe. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

They lugged the bush to the opposite side of the yard where there was a mound of dirt, and they replanted the bush. Walk Two Moons 1994-06-30T00:00:00Z

Then he realized a steady stream of dirt was trickling from Antinous’s scalp, spilling over his shoulders. Blood of Olympus 2014-10-07T00:00:00Z

She was drawing in the dirt with a stick. Because of Mr. Terupt 2010-10-11T00:00:00Z

You need to be clean, not just of real dirt, but of all the bad things you might have done with your hands, your ears, your eyes, your mouth. Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story 2016-06-28T00:00:00Z

My mother took no pity on me and scrubbed the coal dirt off me with a stiff brush and Lava soap. October Sky 1999-04-01T00:00:00Z

The main dirt road that passed through Kabati was rutted with holes and puddles where ducks liked to bathe during the day, and in the backyards of the houses birds nested in mango trees. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier 2007-02-13T00:00:00Z

Juju looks at his hand like dirt’s on it. The Skin I'm In 1998-10-16T00:00:00Z

They passed an enormous pile of dirt where the Royal Gardens once stood. The Bad Beginning 1999-08-25T00:00:00Z

When we passed the food prep area, I saw Clarence holding it over the homemade element they simmered with, a hole in the dirt ground filled with heated rocks from the fire outside. The Marrow Thieves 2017-05-10T00:00:00Z

To make it much wider, they would first have to move some of the surrounding dirt piles out of the way. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

A sloping mound of rocks and dirt, floor to ceiling, cut off the tunnel. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

For extra money, they’d opened a “colored” convenience store where most customers paid in IOUs; they also ran an old cinderblock juke joint where Henrietta often danced on the red- dirt floor. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

What if Zero was still alive, desperately crawling across the dirt searching for water? Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

He saw three men drawing circles in the dirt and jumping in and out of them, like kids playing a game. The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin) 2012-08-14T00:00:00Z

He examined his revolver which was clogged with dirt. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

At J.T.’s driveway, I put on my brakes, then pedaled hard up the long dirt road to his house. Red Kayak 2004-09-23T00:00:00Z

Sometimes he put these little sticks of plant food in the dirt. Miracle's Boys 2000-04-23T00:00:00Z

Trucks haul dirt and pour concrete while men hammer and weld. Towers Falling 2016-07-12T00:00:00Z

Even when you don't see it growing, it’s pushing past the dirt. The Skin I'm In 1998-10-16T00:00:00Z

Much of the land was scrappy dirt, too uneven and rocky to farm. The Season of Styx Malone 2018-10-16T00:00:00Z

Back then, the way cars was and the way dirt roads was, you didn’t need to go far for some adventure. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

She was working at the dirt and looking around suspiciously all the time. Seedfolks 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

She tried not to cringe at all the dirt beneath them. Throne of Glass 2012-08-07T00:00:00Z

On closer examination the horn had proved cracked, and even after he had cleaned all the dirt out, Jon had been unable to get any sound from it. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

I always said you were as dumb as dirt.’ Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

We hadn’t seen any houses along the dirt road. Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

He sniffs every speck of dirt and every tree, happy to be outside. Ninth Ward 2010-08-16T00:00:00Z

On the street corner, an army officer yelled orders at four soldiers building a barricade out of logs, large stones, and barrows full of dirt. Chains 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

I think maybe it is my fault that they forget so quick and so it is my fault that there are peoples who have to crawl in the dirt. The Unfinished Angel 2009-09-22T00:00:00Z

Matt saw the ground ahead change from dirt to cement. The House of the Scorpion 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

The mouthful of gassy dirt left my mouth. Black Swan Green 2006-04-10T00:00:00Z

After St. Louis, with its noise and activity, its trucks and buses, and loud family gatherings, I welcomed the obscure lanes and lonely bungalows set back deep in dirt yards. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings 1969-01-01T00:00:00Z

The only sign of civilization is a small log cabin and a long dirt road that curves out of sight. Amari and the Night Brothers 2021-01-19T00:00:00Z

We walked on the dirt path and through the sugarcane all the way to school, but no Amil. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

A tiny mound of animal bones erupted from the dirt. The Last Olympian 2009-05-05T00:00:00Z

I forge ahead: "We could remove the red lava rock heap. There's dirt under there. I checked. Think of it a courtyard with sunflowers." Counting by 7s 2013-08-29T00:00:00Z

Polly could feel each bump and jolt of the road beneath her as the wooden wheels lurched over each uneven place in the dirt or gouged hole left by other wagons. Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Not great quality. The mike is in the camera. So that was nose down in the dirt too.” Artemis Fowl 2001-04-26T00:00:00Z

I got some clothes from a penny sale, cut them up, and rubbed them with dirt like I crawled out of a grave. Free Lunch 2019-09-10T00:00:00Z

She got dirt in her mouth but she didn't care, the taste was fine, the taste was mud and water and worms and life. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

He screamed as he rolled in the dirt, slapping the fire off. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier 2007-02-13T00:00:00Z

Carl squatted and picked up a handful of dirt, letting it trickle through his fingers, thoughtful as he replied, “Nothing like this ever happened before.” The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

Fill the wagon, head down to drop my dirt, turn around and head back up to fill the wagon again! Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Every word is another shovelful of dirt from the hole I've dug for myself. Fish in a Tree 2015-02-05T00:00:00Z

One of them made a passing attempt at covering up the large blood­stains by kicking dirt over them. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

Each of us got our heart buried in six feet of African dirt; we are all co-conspirators here. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

“I free here. I free now,” Amari replied, digging her toe into the dirt. Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Ivanov house came into sight just as the dull thud of horse hooves and the sharp crunch of wooden wheels over the dirt of the road rose behind them. Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

The houses we passed were more battered than many of those in Cange—dirt floors and roofs of banana fronds that leaked in the rainy season, turning floors to mud. Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

She handed Lina the bean seed, took a little pot from a shelf, scooped some dirt into it, and handed the pot to Lina, too. The City of Ember 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

Digging a square of dirt, then pitching it to the side, I hoped Miss Sadie’s mood had lightened. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

He kicked a dirt pile by Magnet's hole, then he moved toward Stanley. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

The dried blood on his skin now resembled powdered dirt. Salt to the Sea 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

After half an hour we came to the dirt road Addison had pointed to from the top of the tower. Hollow City 2014-01-14T00:00:00Z

I pried it out, hid the earrings, and replaced the brick, carefully brushing away any dirt that might give the hiding place away. Homeless Bird 2000-03-01T00:00:00Z

He led him through cold and narrow passages smelling of dirt and sickness and fried fatback. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter 1940-07-29T00:00:00Z

They had no intention of touching that dirt. Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

Daddy comes in, dusting caked dirt off his hands. The Hate U Give 2017-02-28T00:00:00Z

When the farm hands finally got the chain unhooked from the crossbar, the bull’s head fell in the dirt, and blood oozed out of its mouth and nostrils.... Sounder 1969-01-01T00:00:00Z

They were only visible for a short while and would soon disappear behind the haze of heat and dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

A season in the junkyard had honed my reflexes: I’d learned to listen for the low grunt that escaped Dad’s lips whenever he tossed something heavy, and when I heard it I hit the dirt. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

Finn shouldered the young man aside but slipped when his shoulder hit not flesh, but a slick surface, and he spilled to the dirt. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

We sat down in the dirt and leaves and he opened the bag. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind 2009-09-29T00:00:00Z

Takumi picked up a twig and dug it into the soft red dirt. Looking for Alaska 2005-03-03T00:00:00Z

Beneath the trees were ferns and flowers and damp, black dirt. We Are Okay 2017-02-14T00:00:00Z

Car wheels running from pavement to dirt roused her. Go Set a Watchman: A Novel 2015-07-14T00:00:00Z

I feel them in each step on this dry, cracked dirt. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

I scramble to my feet and brush myself off, though I haven’t accumulated any dirt that I’m aware of. Divergent 2011-04-25T00:00:00Z

We try to wash all the dirt and lint and feathers and sticky marmalade but when we touch him with water he howls. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir 1996-09-05T00:00:00Z

A guy who played in the dirt like me. Paper Towns 2008-10-16T00:00:00Z

“Where is Baby? She hasn’t gone out to play, has she? I don’t want any dirt on that dress.” Half of a Yellow Sun 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

The snow had melted into their hides, washing out the dirt and manure, leaving them silky white; the spots were golden brown. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

The muscles in his shoulder relaxed, and he looked up at her from the dirt. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

Akira had his own shelf too, filled with “Japanese” rocks and “special” dirt and “nice” grass that he collected during the day. A Place to Belong 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

We take a bumpy dirt road through the woods and I get a little nervous, because if we break down out here, there’s nothing around for miles. Boy21 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Is like a web of roads. Is entire canal system. One canal leads to crossing place and meets with another,” explains one man Bernard, drawing lines in the dirt with a stick. Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

When we find number twelve, Mr. Allen makes a left and we drive on a dirt road so narrow, branches whack the car. Boy21 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Dad finally navigated his way to Aunt Maureen’s an hour later, after driving on about seven hundred narrow dirt roads and passing about two hundred cows. P.S. I Miss You 2017-09-26T00:00:00Z

I spoke his name over and over into the dirt, until my voice faded into nothing. The Rock and the River 2009-01-06T00:00:00Z

Finally I escaped Auntie Yeabu’s clutches as they tossed shovelfuls of dirt over my mother’s body, but I was too late. Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z

Gum Baby sprinted on her stubby little legs along the dirt path outside, around the Cadillac, and up the hill leading to the cornfield. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky 2019-10-15T00:00:00Z

Nat is on her belly behind me, running her hand over the dirt, organizing it in little piles. Al Capone Does My Shirts 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z

“You look like little dirt ball,” she teased. Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

It was a raw, nondescript time of year, toward the end of November, the kind of wet, self-pitying November day when every speck of dirt stands out clearly. A Separate Peace 1959-01-01T00:00:00Z

Even with the dirt coating, its surface has a glint of something more special and sparkling beneath. The Last Cuentista 2021-10-12T00:00:00Z

Stanley sat with his back against a pile of dirt and ate. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Everyone was waiting for me now, so I crouched down and grabbed a big handful of dirt and sprinkled it onto the coffin. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

Does the dirt and grass ever get mad that we’re just walking along, kicking and standing on the miniature world beneath our feet without a second thought? King and the Dragonflies 2020-02-04T00:00:00Z

She took a few steps forward, her chain dragging in the dirt, her tail still. As Brave As You 2016-05-03T00:00:00Z

How I scrabbled in the dirt until my fingers were bloody and raw. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

But she could not help—as she dug in the dirt, and sang to the worms, and prayed with the mantises—comparing this garden, this field, with her other gardens, with Sean’s garden. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

He picked up some dirt and rubbed it between his hands. Crispin: The Cross of Lead 2002-06-01T00:00:00Z

He picked the skewer up out of the dirt and blew on it. The Season of Styx Malone 2018-10-16T00:00:00Z

That way, when you saw a tire track in the dirt, you knew instantly if it belonged to the great fleets of Kamkwamba Toyota, for instance, or Gilbert Company LTD. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind 2009-09-29T00:00:00Z

He grins and stabs his trowel in for another load of dirt. The Adoration of Jenna Fox 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

Macon stepped back, one hand outstretched behind him, thinking all the while of how his father’s body had twitched and danced for whole minutes in the dirt. Song of Solomon 1977-01-01T00:00:00Z

They turned off Interstate 25 at a sign that said KAYCEE, drove past a convenience store, and eventually turned onto a dirt road. In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse 2015-11-10T00:00:00Z

He tossed the rock, face down, beside his dirt pile, as if it had no special value. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

I pull on my gear, grab my spit, kick some dirt over the coals, and take off in the opposite direction the Careers went. The Hunger Games 2008-09-14T00:00:00Z

A pool of blood slowly seeps into the dirt around her head. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

This taste reminds me of dirt, or animals, or skin. Liar & Spy 2012-08-07T00:00:00Z

To them, the earth is something to be respected and preserved, but dirt gets no respect. The View From Saturday 1996-09-01T00:00:00Z

Someone grabbed her, dragging her across the dirt and bramble like a sack of yams. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

Maybe so, but right then Joe felt like a lint-headed fool, crazier than she and just as wild as he slipped into mud, tripped over black roots, scuffed through patches of dirt crawling with termites. Jazz 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

On December 1 Smith walked out of the barn and stooped over the dirt racecourse. Seabiscuit: An American Legend 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

He dug his shovel into his hole, and tried to turn over the dirt and bury the seeds. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

She was so anxious, the ground rumbled beneath her and immediately yielded a bumper crop—precious metals popping to the surface as though the dirt was anxious to expel them. The House of Hades 2013-10-08T00:00:00Z

I sprawl on the ground, my face in the dirt. Blood on the River 2006-05-04T00:00:00Z

Mama had suddenly started energetically picking up tiny bits of dust or dirt from the tatami. A Place to Belong 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

A light snow began falling as the car wound its way up a narrow dirt road carved into the side of a mesa. Bomb 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Or maybe he's just that upset about the dirt damage. Counting by 7s 2013-08-29T00:00:00Z

We ran like venadas, frightened deer, fleeing all the way down the hill toward the safety of foreign woods and eerie dirt paths. Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

That is: Padre Sinkovich had wanted a bell so badly for so long that one day he simply began to hear a joyful bronze tolling beneath the dirt floor of his humble mud church. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

The dirt on my hands turns to mud as condensation appears almost instantly on the plastic. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

My mother ran out to retrieve it and when she brought it back inside, she was crying and picking pebbles and dirt off the seared skin. The Book of Unknown Americans 2014-06-03T00:00:00Z

I swored it and I proofed it wasn’t no bluff, but now ain’t no more need for that dagger, ain’t no more need to be thinking ’bout the dirt what all over it. Elijah of Buxton 2007-08-06T00:00:00Z

They dragged themselves to the cellar, which was nothing more than a dirt room underground, built a century ago to store canned goods and potatoes. Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

He put on canvas loafers that had once been white but had yellowed with the dirt of the road. When I Was Puerto Rican 1993-09-20T00:00:00Z

He looks at his hand—at the blood and the dirt and the smear. I Am the Messenger 2002-01-10T00:00:00Z

My hands were in the dirt, amidst the traces of him—he who was my father, my grandfather—and I lifted that dirt to my face and put his mark upon me. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves 2009-10-13T00:00:00Z

The shed was entirely empty save for a pile of straw in one comer of the dirt floor. The Witch of Blackbird Pond 1958-12-01T00:00:00Z

There was the smell of furniture polish; the dust and dirt of the past season were forever wiped away. Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

She saw the dirt under her nails, the scabs on her elbows, the scratches cm her hands. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

He landed a glancing blow on the man's cheek, before finding himself facedown in the dirt, his face being slammed into the mud, with the wind knocked out of him. Stardust 1998-10-01T00:00:00Z

The fingers were blunt, callused, wiry black hairs grew between the knuckles, there was dirt under the nail of the thumb. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

A film of dirt, dust, and sweat coat me like a light covering of hair. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

Her dress was too small for her, and she was barefoot on a dirt road, standing in front of a little hut. From Twinkle, with Love 2018-05-22T00:00:00Z

And though it still feels strange to be so far away from soft dirt beneath bare feet the ground is firm here and the one tree blooms wide enough to shade four buildings. Brown Girl Dreaming 2014-08-28T00:00:00Z

His delight in discovering dirt the spring he was two. Among the Hidden 1998-03-01T00:00:00Z

Hazel crouched next to the dirt where Gray disappeared. The Son of Neptune 2011-10-04T00:00:00Z

They are small touches, but the effect is that I feel like my clothes are smudged with dirt. Allegiant 2013-10-22T00:00:00Z

Marigold rushed to Zane, picking his head out of the dirt. A Tangle of Knots 2013-02-05T00:00:00Z

Dirt is the working layer of earth, and dealing with dirt is as much a part of farm life as dealing with manure: Neither is user-friendly but both are necessary. The View From Saturday 1996-09-01T00:00:00Z

Crawled on their hands and knees, tried to eat the dirt from the graves. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

She brushed the dirt off her skirt, then held her right elbow with her left hand. Healer of the Water Monster 2021-05-11T00:00:00Z

When Buford got there the thick stain had already puddled the dirt beneath his head. The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

As he dumped it out, he thought he saw something glisten as it fell onto the dirt pile. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

He spat tobacco juice in an arc that just missed a Rhode Island Red pecking dirt in the swept yard. Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

He walked meekly down the aisle and got out, standing forlornly in the dirt. October Sky 1999-04-01T00:00:00Z

Fifteen minutes was enough dme for the day’s dirt to fall to the bottom of the tub, while Vonetta and Fern styled bubble beehive hairdos on their heads and beards on each other. One Crazy Summer 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

“I tried to use some earth magic, and all I did was throw dirt in a zmeyok’s face. I can’t even see threads most of the time.” Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

He taps me on the arm and uses a twig to write a word in the dirt. Mockingjay 2010-08-24T00:00:00Z

The field stretched along a highway that ran from Burundi to Congo, and cars whizzed by us as we lay in the dirt. How Dare the Sun Rise 2017-05-16T00:00:00Z

“That’s not what I mean. Look ...” I pointed to where the pigs had rooted around in the dirt and leaves, going after some choice morsel. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

Ivy probably smelled like dirt and more dirt. Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

Near the top of the ridge, I knelt, searching for tracks in the dirt. Willodeen 2021-09-07T00:00:00Z

“There’s just red dirt roads and hillbilly kids there.” Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

Harley kept wiping away the outlines he drew in the dirt and starting over again, angry that he couldn’t draw them the way he wanted them. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

Layers of dust, dirt, sweat on her skin: endless. A Heart in a Body in the World 2018-09-18T00:00:00Z

They work dirt cheap and don’t, Auntie Buzz says with a happy smile, belong to a union. Liar, Liar 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Ms. Griegson’s orange pickup was parked on the old dirt road at the base of the fir tree. Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer 2015-05-12T00:00:00Z

I push my fists harder into the dirt. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

They followed a smaller dirt path around the side of the chapel, past the charred remains of a motorcycle. Shadowshaper 2015-06-30T00:00:00Z

Beyond those, ringed by bare dirt, stands a pretty cottage with a thatched roof and stucco walls. All the Light We Cannot See 2014-05-06T00:00:00Z

She wanted to place a memento in the dirt, underneath the green courts. The Parker Inheritance 2018-03-27T00:00:00Z

Nel began a more strenuous digging and, rising to her knee, was careful to scoop out the dirt as she made her hole deeper. Sula 1973-11-01T00:00:00Z

Late one afternoon, driving along a dirt road between thatch huts, Ellsberg saw fear on the faces of the villagers. Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War 2015-09-22T00:00:00Z

Every night, the water in the bottom of my shower turns brown for a minute as the dirt runs from between my toes. A Mango-Shaped Space 2003-04-16T00:00:00Z

In his bedroom he dampened a handkerchief in the water and loosened the caked blood and dirt on the girl’s face. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

We have dirt on our cheeks and twigs tangled in our hair. How to Disappear Completely 2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

She set her water container on the ground, pulled up some tubers, brushed the dirt away, and began to eat. Gathering Blue 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Let’s go, boy. As they say in England, ‘A moving pebble doesn’t get covered with dirt.’” Tiger Boy 2015-10-01T00:00:00Z

Adam drove exuberantly from farm to farm, picked up dirt and crumbled it in his fingers, talked and planned and dreamed. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

I picture his grave, on the hill, overlooking the pond, some little nine-foot piece of earth where they will place him, cover him with dirt, put a stone on top. Tuesdays with Morrie 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

He stubs the cigarette out in the dirt, then drops his head into his hands—wait, what? I'll Give You the Sun 2014-09-16T00:00:00Z

As Roy’s butt landed in the dirt, a hood came down over his face and his arms were jerked behind his back. Hoot 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

The air smells like dirt and apples, and I try not to breathe it too loudly. Insurgent 2012-05-01T00:00:00Z

At about noon the next day, an army truck bumped and bounced very slowly down the dirt road leading to the Trinity site. Bomb 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

I brush dirt and dust from his dark hair. Without Refuge 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

No more torn trousers or muddy boots; no dirt on her face. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

My wakes of pebbles and dirt caught up with me. Black Swan Green 2006-04-10T00:00:00Z

After that it was a matter of sleuthing—investigating crevices that would be a convenient place to hide a book-shaped object, observing a pile of freshly dug dirt, or noticing something out of place. Book Scavenger 2015-06-02T00:00:00Z

But when I reached out to steady myself, my hand didn’t come to rest on leaves and dirt. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

Only if the archaeological context—the dirt and rock around the find—was established as ancient could the bone be classified as ancient too. 1491 2005-10-10T00:00:00Z

It landed in dirt beyond the centerfielder’s leap and rolled onto the parking lot, a white pureness against the black macadam. Wringer 1997-08-16T00:00:00Z

Landslide makes me think of rocks and dirt falling down a mountain. Stella by Starlight 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

Though he tried to convince himself otherwise, he'd been aware for a while that his piles of dirt were too close to his hole. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Hurriedly I put out the fire, covered it with dirt, hid my smoking rack in the spring, grabbed Frightful and got in my tree. My Side of the Mountain 1959-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Either way, it was an accident,” Officer Rariden said, picking a bit of dirt out from under his nail. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

Her feeling was green, like grass, like a seed coming up through dirt, sprouting and growing toward the sun. Far from the Tree 2017-10-03T00:00:00Z

Sammy refused to speak or help, just sat cross-legged with his jaw set, picking at the dirt with his finger. Homecoming 1981-01-01T00:00:00Z

Both are limp and wet with dirt and sweat. The Sea in Winter 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

When it cooks, it smells like wet dirt. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

But there was something far worse here than dirt, a kind of frightening witches’ Sabbath. Travels with Charley in Search of America 1962-01-01T00:00:00Z

As they came to their drive, they glanced at the bridge- repair equipment, looked the other way, then drove up the long dirt road to their house. Frightful's Mountain 2001-05-21T00:00:00Z

But all I find is dirt, sticks, stones, leaves. Al Capone Does My Shirts 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z

When I was finished I stood up, brushed the dirt from my knees and my elbows, and located my glasses. Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

He took a kernel in his beak and ate it hungrily, flipping the soft discarded casing onto the dirt. The Ugly One 2013-06-11T00:00:00Z

They flocked to watch peasants bent over in the fields, digging the hard dirt, crying into the furrows to water the seeds. The Joy Luck Club 1989-01-01T00:00:00Z

His hands were smudged with dirt and grease. The Rock and the River 2009-01-06T00:00:00Z

We ran forward to the downed animal, a very large grayish sow sprawled on her side across the dirt road. The Omnivore's Dilemma 2006-04-11T00:00:00Z

Cars careened off roads and into ditches, where their occupants clutched cloths to their faces, struggled to breathe, gagged, and coughed up dirt. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

“Late one night I was so tired, Miss Love, I jest laid down on the cool fresh dirt. Right on her grave. Hit felt like when we used to lay in bed together talkin’. Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

He watched Baba's body rise from the dirt, mouth open in a silent scream as a creature stalked forward, a being with wretched black eyes and blood dripping from its maw. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

“What a bunch of hooey,” I said under my breath, tossing a dirt clod over my shoulder against the locked-up garden shed. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

The cowhides stood about two feet off the dirt floor, stretched tight inside a pole frame Papa had built in one corner of the room. Old Yeller 1956-01-01T00:00:00Z

The day was an excessive warm one; the dirt itself smelled of heat when we landed; and, as if distempered, the skies began a sickly-warm drizzle as we formed upon the dock. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves 2009-10-13T00:00:00Z

There were no lawns, only brown dirt pockmarked with weeds. Lupita Mañana 1981-03-21T00:00:00Z

You could always tell how much you’d danced at the Dugout if you pulled off your socks that night and looked at the black ring around your ankles from the coal dirt. October Sky 1999-04-01T00:00:00Z

You have yet to wash your own underwear, spread a bed, wipe the ring from your tub, or move a fleck of your dirt from one place to another. Song of Solomon 1977-01-01T00:00:00Z

He’s out of breath and smeared with dirt. Merci Suárez Changes Gears 2018-09-11T00:00:00Z

We veer off onto a dirt road that ends at a small parking area. Linked 2021-07-20T00:00:00Z

He seemed not to notice or care about the rip at the knee or under the arm, the tie-tied shoe, the leaves in Milkman’s hair, or the dirt all over the suit. Song of Solomon 1977-01-01T00:00:00Z

I plant my sandals beside the white square on the dirt and lift the bat in the air, trying to imitate the coach's stance. You Bring the Distant Near 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

His footsteps shushed on the dirt path as he walked away. Book Scavenger 2015-06-02T00:00:00Z

I stood with my hand over my mouth, staring in disbelief at the empty field until I realized there were splinters of brick and small white plaster tiles pressed into the dirt and grass. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

Wagons loaded with dirt were coming by in the other direction, and I nodded to each driver since these were men that I was going to be working with. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Pollard’s weight sank hard into his right stirrup, and he pushed off against it, trying to avoid falling over Exhibit’s shoulder and down into the dirt. Seabiscuit: An American Legend 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

I wiped it down, making sure to remove clods of dried mud and clumps of grass from the undercarriage and chipping the dried dirt off the pictures of the rabbit and the turtle. Lawn Boy Returns 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

A moment later, we heard the engine of the police car scream to life and tires skidding in the dirt, scaring our chickens into a bunch of squawking. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

“My back’s so sore from digging in Miss Sadie’s dry dirt I could spit. Except my mouths too parched.” Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

The bathroom floor was slimy with too much dirt washed off too many bodies, and the toilet was thick with the smells of strangers. Half of a Yellow Sun 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

“Ay, and out of it to better things,” said Thambi, with flint in his voice, “but for spawn like yours who have sold themselves cheaper than dirt.” Nectar in a Sieve 1954-01-01T00:00:00Z

He spat straw and dirt out of his mouth. Hattie Big Sky 2006-09-26T00:00:00Z

They reached the edge of the poppy fields as the last streaks of sunlight slid behind the hills.The dirt path gave way to a wide lawn. The House of the Scorpion 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

It wasn’t a proper burial, but the dirt was too hard for much else. Willodeen 2021-09-07T00:00:00Z

She plays with the dirt they’ve dug up from the yard and threatens to put the dollar bill into her mouth. The Namesake 2003-09-01T00:00:00Z

It had a dirt floor packed down from many water sprinklings, and its walls were smooth-plastered adobe. Bless Me, Ultima 1972-01-01T00:00:00Z

I scrub off the dirt and sweat from the woods and even wash my hair. The Hunger Games 2008-09-14T00:00:00Z

“Do you think this is dirt, or some kind of fungus?” Interpreter of Maladies 1999-05-22T00:00:00Z

Sweat rolled off my face and fell in great drops to the dirt below. Chains 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

I quickly wash my face and scrub the dirt from my hands. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

The Papineaus, she said, were dirt poor for a reason: none of them did any work. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

She noticed a pile of twigs and dirt. A Girl Named Disaster 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

Question: How come we have to put dirt on our faces? Freak The Mighty 1993-10-01T00:00:00Z

Ma throwed herself in the dirt off the wagon, moaning, ’lowing Pap’s pistol to fall into the dust. The Journey of Little Charlie 2018-01-30T00:00:00Z

The lavanderia is undergoing restoration to remove a thick layer of dirt that covers its northern end, brought about by some long-ago mudslide. The Adoration of Jenna Fox 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

There was a path there that led to the dirt road that ran to the Coalwood School, and I figured I could hide in the darkness. October Sky 1999-04-01T00:00:00Z

It always changes folks, and sometimes it brings out dirt and meanness dat even de person didn’t know they had in ’em theyselves. Their Eyes Were Watching God 1937-09-18T00:00:00Z

The roof and walls are made of straw and the hut has only a dirt floor. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

It was a large rectangular hole dug in the dirt, about six feet long by four feet wide and three feet deep. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

“We have an emergency generator,” panted the man, crawling out of the potato dirt and onion skins. The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm 1994-04-01T00:00:00Z

“See, that’s one of the things that sucks about being a new kid at school. You don’t have any friends to fill you in on all the dirt.” Far from the Tree 2017-10-03T00:00:00Z

I brushed straw and dirt off me, and carried on walking till I came to an old-style bathtub in the corner of the next field. Black Swan Green 2006-04-10T00:00:00Z

I had froze solid, sticking to the dirt. Chains 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Little puffs of dirt rise in whispers and hushes beneath my feet. Without Refuge 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

On the road, Ivan’s brothers were taking turns shoving dirt down the back of his tunic. Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

The tin box was buried in the soft dirt beneath the tree, shallow enough that I could dig it up with my hands. The Secret Life of Bees 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

Arturo came home from work each day tired and hungry, the crevices of his skin caked with dirt. The Book of Unknown Americans 2014-06-03T00:00:00Z

Or kneeling by the little plot of dirt around the mailbox, the cemetery of all the flowers she’d tried to grow. Twilight 2005-10-05T00:00:00Z

Now that tarp is coated in atmospheric dirt. Counting by 7s 2013-08-29T00:00:00Z

Her mouth was open, her eyes closed, her sallow face smeared with dirt. The Fighting Ground 1984-04-01T00:00:00Z

Guards hurl themselves against the family, flinging them to the dirt. Without Refuge 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

The dirt kicked up a few feet in front of Billy. The Glass Castle 2005-03-01T00:00:00Z

Out on Edmonton’s dirt roads, his legs swinging free from Forest Dawn’s sides while the toboggan bobbed along behind, Johnny decided he wanted to be a jockey. Seabiscuit: An American Legend 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

A layer of grime, russet flakes and dirt, clung to the back edge of the comb, and Penelope rubbed it in her apron, leaving rusty stains on the white material. Ophie's Ghosts 2021-05-18T00:00:00Z

I stepped up to the brink where the solid ground plummeted to the water, bent down, and ran my fingers through the exposed dirt. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

While he obsessively pulls off the stickers from the sides of the former gelato carton, Mai and Dell and I fill up everything else with the fresh dirt. Counting by 7s 2013-08-29T00:00:00Z

He unfastened the two leather satchels from the donkey’s back and tossed them into the dirt. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

The walls and the windows of the first-floor units are covered in a layer of newly ground dirt. Counting by 7s 2013-08-29T00:00:00Z

Debris, dirt, grass, and twigs from the river still stuck to his clothes. While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement 2011-02-01T00:00:00Z

He poked his finger into the sandy dirt. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

"Your dress is black and the dirt is black as well." The Bell Jar 1963-01-14T00:00:00Z

As he skittered along the soil, he scrambled to stay on his back, pressing his coarse palms into the ground to avoid turning over and having his face dragged through the dirt and rocks. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

I nodded, looked down at the dirt floor. We Were Here 2009-10-05T00:00:00Z

Ayesha looks at her shoes and kicks at the dirt a bit. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

The streets were dirt again here on the north bank. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

“Well,” Gary said, tossing his coffee on the dirt, where it dried in about two seconds, “I bet you’re tired after your long trip. I’ll take you up to the apartment.” Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

Her maids sluiced the blood off her face, scrubbed the dirt from her back, washed her hair and brushed it out until it sprang back in thick auburn curls. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

“What?” he said, brushing the dirt from his hands. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

Mr. Sir turned the water back on, and again Stanley watched it pour onto the dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Then she did that gross thing where she licked her thumb and was about to rub some dirt off my cheek, but I leaped away from her. Lawn Boy Returns 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

I mean the guy looked as old as dirt. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe 2012-02-21T00:00:00Z

He kicked dirt over the ruined melon to conceal it. The Red Pony 1937-01-01T00:00:00Z

Mr. Derby sat next to the driver, continually checking his fingernails and picking specks of dirt off his boots. Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

If I weren’t wearing a string of rowan berries, he could ensorcell me so that I thought dirt was some kind of delicacy. The Cruel Prince 2018-01-02T00:00:00Z

Already one of Nate’s friends was lying dead in the dirt, shot through the heart. I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 2017-08-01T00:00:00Z

“He has sores in his mouth. His skin condition, I would say, comes from a combination of dirt and an allergic reaction to chicken litter.” The House of the Scorpion 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

I knew I would remember this forever, pack it away in my mind like I brought Kazi’s mortar and pestle, and the dirt, and your jewelry, Mama. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

On and on it went like that, repacking dirt, hauling tires— we battled against the ever-dropping temperature: thirty degrees, twenty-eight degrees, twenty-six degrees. Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

The boy screamed and shrank to the dirt as the blows continued. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

See the batey, the dirt road leading through, the shacks made of cornstalks roofed with banana leaves. Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

Here was the American dream built brick by brick, screw by screw, concrete over dirt. American Street 2017-02-14T00:00:00Z

“I know the way,” said Jonas, starting off through the dirt. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

I put out the bag of jewelry and dirt and the mortar and pestle on the shawl with my diary on top of my extra salwar kameez and underwear. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

I press myself against the back of the seat as we start down our bumpy dirt driveway toward the road. Shiloh 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

I knew I could wash away the dirt and the grease, but the wildness in my eyes was more difficult, and that was the worst part. We Are Okay 2017-02-14T00:00:00Z

“That’s where they’re burying most of the dead. The preachers say a prayer, and someone throws a layer of dirt on top.” Fever 1793 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Occupying some dunes on the other side of the field were homeless guys, with long beards, their faces brown from sun and dirt. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

Men with religion emerge to say Kaddish, the mourner's prayer, as the dirt is packed over and patted down. What the Night Sings 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

I had to surrender my dirt canvas on the floor and instead used my fingernail to carve drawings on the wall. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

We worked quickly, scooping up handfuls of dirt before the worms could wiggle their way deep into the ground. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

We continue down the dirt trail, but a lot slower. Amari and the Night Brothers 2021-01-19T00:00:00Z

I remember stopping to get a good look at a pile of dirt that was being scampered on by a bunch of bugs. Elijah of Buxton 2007-08-06T00:00:00Z

He took out his handkerchief and blotted furiously at his upper lip, his freckles standing out like specks of dirt against his reddening complexion. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

“Earthworms! They’re fat and juicy. You take the dirt off, cut them open, wash them, and cook them. It isn’t bad, cook ’em like you do noodles. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

There were times when she literally ate dirt. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood 2016-11-15T00:00:00Z

How could it be any more grunt work than spooning dirt? The Adoration of Jenna Fox 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

It was an exhausting journey, along rocky dirt roads, up and down hills, past numerous villages, but we did not pause. Long Walk to Freedom 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

Despite a hard day’s walking, he was still on the road when night fell, making the rutted dirt road a stumbling ground of half-seen shapes. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

He stands by his schoolbag, shaken and confused, looking up at the ceiling and down at the overturned plant in a pile of dirt. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

Before I drove the tractor over to the cornfield I adjusted the blade on the mower to cut a half inch above dirt level. Dead End in Norvelt 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

In Sagan’s twilight, through the haze of dirt and mist, the lake comes into view. The Last Cuentista 2021-10-12T00:00:00Z

He’d dug out the dirt packed into the hollows of the strange mark in the flagstone, making the mark clearer. Throne of Glass 2012-08-07T00:00:00Z

The shiny automobile rolled down the dirt road, hitting every gaping pothole. Full of Beans 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Stacks of cobbles, pulled up out of the dirt, were piled in yards. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves 2009-10-13T00:00:00Z

It started busting its head out of the dirt when me and the other boys at the Home were getting our nightly teasing from the biggest bully there, Billy Bums. Bud, Not Buddy 1999-09-02T00:00:00Z

There were no bright colors anywhere, no dirt lots in place of lawns, no rusted chain-link fences. Anger Is a Gift 2018-05-22T00:00:00Z

And she had to have something clean to drink, because the water they floated on would be full of stirred-up dirt and dead animals. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

I lay there in the dirt and remembered how Rowdy and I used to trick-or-treat together. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 2007-09-01T00:00:00Z

We watched her draw in the dirt, sing, run, cartwheel. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

In the afternoon heat they snooze in the dusty dirt beneath that tangle of manzanita trees. The Omnivore's Dilemma 2006-04-11T00:00:00Z

“Don’t you go talking to us as if we’re dirt on your shoes! Generations of purebloods, wizards all — more than you can say, I don’t doubt!” Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2005-07-16T00:00:00Z

“You a low creature, man! I can’t believe you done that! You lower than dirt.” Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Her hair was matted, her elbows caked with dirt, and a small piece of one front tooth was missing. Interpreter of Maladies 1999-05-22T00:00:00Z

He carefully looked through all the dirt dug up by Zero, as he shoveled it into a wheelbarrow, though he knew he wouldn't find anything. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Marks in the dirt show that their quarry has crawled under it. Enrique's Journey 2006-02-21T00:00:00Z

Finally, I lay face-down in the dirt, unable to get up. Kindred 1979-06-01T00:00:00Z

Sadly he lay down by an unrewarding blueberry bush, drew his paws down tightly over his blackened face, then licked the dirt off them. The Incredible Journey 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

I tried to ram my face into the ground—all I could taste in my mouth was blood and dirt. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

He kicked at tiny weeds and smoothed circles in the dirt with his hands. The Birchbark House 1999-07-21T00:00:00Z

The heroism and glamour might be there somewhere, but you had to dig and scrape and scrabble through the dirt, pain, and misery to find it. Hattie Big Sky 2006-09-26T00:00:00Z

When she sees the villagers cover her girls with dirt, she runs over to the grave and attempts to climb in. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Jacqui looks around in sheer awe, stepping off the cement path and onto the grass, and when her foot touches the ground, the dirt gives way. Dry 2018-10-02T00:00:00Z

Slowly, slowly, with a drugged, fathomless calm, Henry bent and picked up a handful of dirt. The Secret History 1992-10-16T00:00:00Z

Men were shoveling out dirt and carving up that hillside good. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

The miners coming off-shift, black with coal dirt and sweat, formed another line going in the opposite direction. October Sky 1999-04-01T00:00:00Z

Ropes lashed out like squid tentacles, and the entire front row of ogres plowed facefirst into the dirt. The Son of Neptune 2011-10-04T00:00:00Z

The girls sat against the trees, grateful for solid, dry dirt. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

It’s a truth as simple as the dirt beneath my feet. King and the Dragonflies 2020-02-04T00:00:00Z

Sunday afternoon, I walked down our gravel and dirt road with Abby’s gift. Hope Springs 2021-08-10T00:00:00Z

They pulled into the store's dirt parking lot fifty minutes early and strode up the staircase and into a blast of air-conditioning. An Abundance of Katherines 2006-09-21T00:00:00Z

George had mixed a sharp rock in the dirt and it bruised her knuckles. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter 1940-07-29T00:00:00Z

I frown, then brush aside more of the dirt to get a better look. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

But the young soldier only stood in the shallow grave and began to dig hurriedly, throwing out the dirt while talking in muttering tones to himself, and giving Jonathan angry looks. The Fighting Ground 1984-04-01T00:00:00Z

But he was up even before Sunflower, throwing handfuls of dirt and screaming obscenities at the pony. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

It went by like a little flying saucer, then crashed in the dirt. The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Okay,” I reply, and, eager to see Alice, take off at a run down a dirt road, then cut over to Tenmile Creek, passing through a forest of yellow birch and maples. On the Far Side of the Mountain 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

He stumbled over a small pile of dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Instead of blood, dry dirt spilled from the cut. Blood of Olympus 2014-10-07T00:00:00Z

He rubs dirt off its surface and grins. The Last Cuentista 2021-10-12T00:00:00Z

Minli started awake as she heard the scraping of the door against the dirt. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z

James put out the fire, using dirt not water, because water would make more smoke. Homecoming 1981-01-01T00:00:00Z

Out on the sidewalks in front I can pretend Chicago ain’t so bad, but in the alleys and around in back of the buildings, ain’t no hiding the dirt. Finding Langston 2018-08-14T00:00:00Z

In silence, Chou and I follow the red dirt trail winding and stretching before us. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Jazz to me sounds brown and tan, and it smells like wet dirt. Out of My Mind 2010-03-09T00:00:00Z

My childhood was an endless blur of narrow streets of dirt and cobblestone, my squabbling baby sisters, and the rural silence. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

He peered above the dirt mound he was behind. Fallen Angels 1988-01-01T00:00:00Z

Cole scuffed at the dirt with his shoe. Touching Spirit Bear 2001-01-09T00:00:00Z

As they loosen the rope around the chest, the corpse tumbles off the chair and lands in the dirt. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your bootsoles. Paper Towns 2008-10-16T00:00:00Z

As it splintered away, it pulled a little puff of dirt from the ground, spraying it into the zmeyok’s eyes. Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

Men working in the fields wore goggles and tied handkerchiefs around their noses to keep the dirt out. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

He grunted as he pried up some dirt, then flung it off to the side. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

When he lifted it out, the tip was gone—broken off in the dirt. The Son of Neptune 2011-10-04T00:00:00Z

In the center of the dirt floor was a rectangular pit, like a grave. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

He took his penknife and drove it point first into the dirt of the alley. Dragonwings 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

As if a feeble hand had reached up from the coffin depths in one last desperate attempt to live before the dirt was shoveled in. A Long Way from Chicago 1998-09-01T00:00:00Z

It gushed out a billow of blue flame, then another, then turned and rolled in the fire, wriggling and crushing it into the dirt. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

The sidewalks are cracked, tufts of weeds forcing their way through, and sometimes there aren’t any sidewalks at all but dirt paths along the black pavement of the street. King and the Dragonflies 2020-02-04T00:00:00Z

He put his hand down on black dirt, was reminded: Pennsylvania. The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

To me, he simply said, “He died in the dirt.” Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

He said there was so much dirt blown into the wound that there had not been much hemorrhage. A Farewell To Arms 1929-09-02T00:00:00Z

I step to the right to get a better angle on the door, and my double hops to the side, her shoes scraping the dirt, to block my way again. Insurgent 2012-05-01T00:00:00Z

A lizard skittered across the dirt in front of me, and I jumped back. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

Makes paths where I suck up the dirt. The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle 2018-01-23T00:00:00Z

The photo next to it was of a group of women in stained blue burkas, walking along a dirt road. Shooting Kabul 2010-06-22T00:00:00Z

He was drawing in the dirt with his finger. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

The dirt must be removed carefully so as not to damage the ancient stones beneath it. The Adoration of Jenna Fox 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

He stood motionless, staring down at the path of dirt we’d worn into the grass between his place and the neighbors. Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet 2007-04-30T00:00:00Z

The adobe ceiling was low, the dirt walls entirely bare, and the only light came from a pair of lanterns set in a corner. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

A small child cowered in the corner, her blonde hair loose and tangled, her feet bare and black with dirt. Fever 1793 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Sometimes he is dressed in a plain suit, and the next time he will be black with dirt and smelling bad and in the overalls he wears to work. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter 1940-07-29T00:00:00Z

Amari and her mother scurried around their small dwelling, rolling up the sleeping mats and sweeping the dirt floor with a broom made of branches. Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

“You reckon?” said Ron, now trying to scrape some dirt off his broom handle. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2005-07-16T00:00:00Z

I pedaled down our soft dirt path through the woods, all the way down to the river’s edge, where I hoped I might find her. Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

Near the quarry, the dirt road diverged, and to the right the general prisoners trooped off to the rock quarry. Long Walk to Freedom 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

“See that sunk in right there . . . and that sunk right there . . . and there ... Them’s all unmarked graves. They sink after a time when the dirt settle around the bodies.” The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

Gringo cars were parked on the dirt road that led to the sea as they had been on the paved Avenida Juarez. Lupita Mañana 1981-03-21T00:00:00Z

It was covered with dirt and tree sap. The Last Olympian 2009-05-05T00:00:00Z

Ivy got a whiff of her peony body lotion, and it smelled so familiar and nice after the smell of dirt and sweat stuck up her nose for the last few hours. Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

I leave for school on my own, walking down the dirt path before the sun’s even had a chance to wake up. King and the Dragonflies 2020-02-04T00:00:00Z

Sherman and I stood in the dirt on the other side of the gas station for only a few minutes before someone picked us up and took us to Caretta. October Sky 1999-04-01T00:00:00Z

The side of his face in the dirt. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

He spits a glob of bloody saliva into the orange dirt, making me queasy. Merci Suárez Changes Gears 2018-09-11T00:00:00Z

Stanley looked out through the haze of heat and dirt at the other boys, lowering and raising their shovels. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Building a ring of mounds with baskets or deerskins full of dirt is a long-term enterprise. 1491 2005-10-10T00:00:00Z

But Jacob was staring into the dirt, his lips pursed. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

Byrd whispers, a swath of dirt across her face like she’d wiped at one thing, leaving behind another. A Bird Will Soar 2021-10-19T00:00:00Z

I’ve decided I’m done when I spot a tiny bit of yellow under the dirt. The Last Cuentista 2021-10-12T00:00:00Z

Wet dirt, filled chamber pots, birch tar used to treat expensive Russian leather, scorched hair, sea brine. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

In the winter, the dirt floor felt cold, but I would shuffle over to the stove. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

I prefer the shedding and disorder and personal dirt of people like myself, people like Jon. Cat's Eye 1988-09-01T00:00:00Z

Totally unconcerned about getting stuck, Joe swerved off the beaten path at a good spot, bucking through loose dirt, sand, and muck to where busted trees lay all about. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

When Ekon woke in the morning's faint hours, the leaves around him were slicked shiny and wet; the dirt was soft and damp. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

All solemnity, therefore, was silent, the peals muffled; and bodies went unheralded to their final rest; and we shoveled dirt atop the dead and watched their wooden vessels sink beneath the earth without a cry. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves 2009-10-13T00:00:00Z

There was dirt everywhere like red chalk dust, and me with my good green linen suit on the outside, wouldn’t you know. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

The thing seemed to hover in the air above the packed dirt floor. Homecoming 1981-01-01T00:00:00Z

The king gazed at it and looked at his own pot, full of only black dirt, and shook his head. When the Sea Turned to Silver 2016-10-04T00:00:00Z

I planted my feet firmly in the dirt and fought to keep my voice polite and proper. Chains 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

When the hole filled, he would cover it with dirt and dig a new one. Touching Spirit Bear 2001-01-09T00:00:00Z

Uncle stamped on the dirt over the sleeping bag until finally the smoke stopped. Kira-Kira 2004-02-01T00:00:00Z

Just as he decided to back out of there, the dirt under his hands became stone and light hit him so hard he flinched. Jazz 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

Now, T. Ray scooped up a handful of dirt and let if fall out of his hands. The Secret Life of Bees 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

The seat cushions were done up in an obnoxiously bright purple, but they, like the small TV hanging on the wall across from them, were coated with dust and dirt. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

He stopped kicking dirt and said, “Don’t it hurt?” The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

He left a shovel in the pile of dirt—to use as needed. The Wednesday Wars 2007-05-21T00:00:00Z

Instead, I got Granny’s gallberry brush-broom off the back porch and swept the dirt clean around the steps. Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

She crouched down in the shadows, letting her fingers brush along the dirt floor. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

As some men sprinkled dirt over Grandma Caye’s casket, I looked up at my mom, who had tears on her cheeks. Courage to Soar 2016-11-15T00:00:00Z

They passed an old frame house and crossed a dirt road. The Road 2006-09-28T00:00:00Z

He was aware of the center beneath him; it soaked into his body from the ground through the torn skin on his hands, covered with powdery black dirt. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

She is a lovely girl with a delicate nose, red lips, and slender legs, wonderfully clean and well cared for, she certainly baths twice a day and never has any dirt under her nails. All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel 1929-01-01T00:00:00Z

Sometimes when they were digging up the streets you saw it down there—real dirt! It’s Kind of a Funny Story 2006-04-02T00:00:00Z

Its windows were bolted shut and covered with wire and dirt, its gray carpet bunched in ripples from decades of foot traffic. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

My mouth tastes like dirt, and my throat feels scratched and dry, like there’s something stuck in it—a feather? Sparrow 2017-10-10T00:00:00Z

There was dirt on his lips, dirt in his hair. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

A few days later, the gang and I were knee-deep in dirt, playing a game of marbles, when a barefoot girl with pigtails came running up to me. Full of Beans 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

And so we sat out there in the shade of the dogwood while the sun beat down on the dirt yard. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

When they died, he plowed their bodies into the dirt for fertilizer. The House of the Scorpion 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

We crossed a dirt courtyard, where pieces of clothing hung like pennants from a wire, and entered a dilapidated hut like all the others. The House of the Spirits: A Novel 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

Once the temperature got to 1°C, I waited another hour, just to make sure the bacteria in the dirt got the memo that it was time to take it slow. The Martian 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Feynman sat on the hood of a jeep, playing bongos as people danced in the dirt streets. Bomb 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

There are dirt roads in other parts of Baltimore, but this part of the city nearest to city hall has nicer streets. Dread Nation 2018-04-03T00:00:00Z

The stone banisters on the outside stairways were chipped, their surfaces blotched with dirt, and the edges of the stone steps were round and smooth from years of use. The Chosen 1967-04-28T00:00:00Z

She called us to come and separate the food from the dirt and dried leaves and grass. Lost Boy, Lost Girl 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

Faro bounded around the tractor, his feet stirring up small sprays of dirt with each bound. Z for Zachariah 1976-07-29T00:00:00Z

We all stop to rest on the side of the lumpy dirt road. Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

Six a.m., two hours later, and I’m parked on a dirt track that leads to a dead brown cornfield on top of Jenkins’s Hill. Please Ignore Vera Dietz 2012-10-12T00:00:00Z

He’d been restrained by a rope at some point; it was still tied around his waist and trailed in the dirt. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

Links of broken chain dangled from its bloodstained neck, dragging along dirt roads and clanking as it walked. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

As the song crescendoed, a row of daisies poked up from the dirt and unfurled toward her hands. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 2011-06-07T00:00:00Z

Otherwise, in her bear-skin traveling cloak, she looked something like a hill of dirt: dry, brown, ready to crumble in the humidity of the rain forest. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

A woman lay in the dirt, wailing, tearing at her short afro. Purple Hibiscus 2003-10-01T00:00:00Z

It was daylight, broad daylight, and he wondered why it was that he would be lying on his back on the dirt, looking at the ceiling in the middle of the day. The River 1991-06-01T00:00:00Z

The ones who excavated a million tons of rock and dirt, toiled in the belly of the earth for the deliverance of slaves like her. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

Brer leaped out of the tunnel entrance and landed next to me, finally appearing in the flesh and not as some magical face in the dirt. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky 2019-10-15T00:00:00Z

I will be shoveling dirt spoonful by spoonful. The Adoration of Jenna Fox 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

You voted instead for a woman and a family with Texas dirt under their shoes, who would lead you into four years of progress, of carrying on a legacy of hope and change. Red, White & Royal Blue 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

I was grimy, the front of my body streaked with dirt from sliding across the floor. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

If the machine were used deliberately for that end, hunger, overwork, dirt, illiteracy, and disease could be eliminated within a few generations. 1984 1949-06-08T00:00:00Z

There was dirt and grass everywhere, even in his mouth. I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 2017-08-01T00:00:00Z

I stared at the yellow glove in front of me, streaked with dirt and black grime, and, despite what had happened a few minutes before, pulled it right off her little fingers. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

I just know that to protect myself, I often have to rub dirt and charcoal on my skin to look as dark as the base people. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt, where I guess a dinosaur exhibit was supposed to go. The Titan's Curse 2007-05-11T00:00:00Z

The future did not seem nearly as gloomy as it had over in the pile of dirt in the corner. The Cricket in Times Square 1960-01-01T00:00:00Z

She made him stand in a dark basement corner on one foot, nose pressed to the wall, dirt filling his eyes. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

He struck me in the back with the butt of his rifle, and I stumbled forward into the dirt. Prisoner B-3087 2013-03-01T00:00:00Z

“Tonight I’m in love with the whole world. Everything of the earth. The dirt. The sand. The sky. That cave we went inside the other night.” We Were Here 2009-10-05T00:00:00Z

The churned-up dust settled back against the road, some of it mingling with the large dirt rectangle that had once housed Mom’s vegetable garden. X: A Novel 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

I hoped some of the dirt would stay under my fingernails for a long time, and maybe some of the microscopic material would be there forever. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 2005-04-01T00:00:00Z

Finally Ser Dontos the Red gave it up for a bad job, sat down in the dirt, and removed his plumed helm. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

Finn left the door open to the breeze and the dirt and the frantic, inconsolable cat and stomp-limped to the ramshackle blue house across the street. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

An aftermath of a dead man was probably still lying on the flat, flat earth, breathing up the dirt till it lined his lungs. I Am the Messenger 2002-01-10T00:00:00Z

He brushes the dirt off his hands as he stands. All The Bright Places 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

And then I was sitting on the dirt, not even caring about all that egg yolk, and then Dad was next to me, because he didn’t care about the yolk, either. The Science of Breakable Things 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

And now it was lying in the dirt in that leaky cabin. I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980 2016-08-01T00:00:00Z

The wind raised up brown clouds of dirt from the perimeter road and mixed them with the black clouds of the muck fire. Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

Trudging forward like a sleepwalker in the bitter cold, I make my way down the driveway, then turn left and plod up the rutted dirt road to the falling-down bridge. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

Down the street, the trees are imprisoned equidistantly in square plots of dirt. Dreaming in Cuban 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

He hits dirt by the tracks and crumples to the ground. Enrique's Journey 2006-02-21T00:00:00Z

Under the trees, on pounded dirt and among mud puddles from fresh rains, people set up stands for selling umbrellas and plastic wrist watches. The Hot Zone 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

While Saracen tanks rumbled through the dirt streets of the townships, helicopters hovered above, swooping down to break up any gathering. Long Walk to Freedom 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

The dust was there, and the dirt too in places, but there were no ropes or blocks. Rebecca 1938-08-01T00:00:00Z

At night, she continuously fusses over our appearance, wiping the dirt off our faces, combing the knots out of our hair. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Mr. Trepid made his way to the last stone marked on the map, kicking dirt clogs ahead of him, and smashing his shovel into tree trunks. Ruby Holler 2002-02-01T00:00:00Z

A few seconds later a grenade exploded where he’d been lying, sending up a shower of plants and dirt, leaving a crater three feet wide. Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam 2018-04-10T00:00:00Z

The cabin smelled like a flower shop inside a forest: fresh-turned dirt, sweet spices and pine, surrounded by new blossoms. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

All this was my father's way of letting me know he was in the know—he had the dirt on everyone, and it was the dirt that made them interesting. Hole in My Life 2002-03-26T00:00:00Z

The dirt floor, populated by earth worms, looked like a gray road map. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

They’d found a place where the flood waters had undercut one of the dirt banks to form a shallow cave. Old Yeller 1956-01-01T00:00:00Z

The room was warm and quite small but entirely free of dirt, vermin, and mice. Chains 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Cora sat by the edge of her plot on her block of sugar maple and worked dirt from under her fingernails. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

Carefully, he spread out the map between them in the dirt, tracing two connecting lines with his fingers. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

I showered, blasting away the dirt, then I laid the new clothes on my bed and stared at them. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

A few wisps of hay swirl lazily across the hard dirt. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

Wayne slowed to five miles per hour and turned right onto a dirt road. Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

The place was like a root cellar—dirt walls, air choked up with must, and bugs. Worth 1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

A man’s work clothes, stiff with dirt, hang oddly ballooned in the closet. Dreaming in Cuban 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

“You see that corn? I want the dirt chopped up so fine I can sift it through my fingers,” he tells me. Shiloh 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

She asked her burrowing friends, the moles and the groundhogs, to dig through the dirt and loosen the soil. The Wild Robot 2016-04-05T00:00:00Z

So this is what he believes in your hands in the cool dirt until the earth gives back to you all that you've asked of it. Brown Girl Dreaming 2014-08-28T00:00:00Z

Thomas asked as he yanked out a huge weed, clumps of dirt swaying on the roots. The Maze Runner 2009-10-06T00:00:00Z

He scrubs dirt out of the wounds and thinks of the migrants he has treated who have died. Enrique's Journey 2006-02-21T00:00:00Z

“Here’s rosemary; that’s for remembrance,” I said, tucking a sprig into his doublet, which had been ripped and smeared with dirt in the fray with the guards. Ophelia 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z

She drove off the uneven dirt road that led to the mobile home and onto the smooth pavement. Healer of the Water Monster 2021-05-11T00:00:00Z

I wiped the sweat off my face with my arm and accidentally smudged a little dirt across my forehead. The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora 2017-05-16T00:00:00Z

The eyes were still liquid and golden brown, staring at dark mountain dirt and dry oak leaves tangled in the grass. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

A round hole in the dirt, most likely, but certainly nothing like what she saw. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH 1970-06-01T00:00:00Z

Greyback smelled as he had done at the top of the tower where Dumbledore had died: of dirt, sweat, and blood. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2007-07-21T00:00:00Z

Two houses down from our house, there was a large, barren dirt lot. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

For the last years, ten or twenty, the holes have been dried up and empty except for dirt clogs and lizards. The Unfinished Angel 2009-09-22T00:00:00Z

We had no soap, but at least I was able to wash away the caking dirt of Birkenau. Prisoner B-3087 2013-03-01T00:00:00Z

“He come in with a gun,” Hugh said, studying the dirt. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 2011-06-07T00:00:00Z

There’s screaming and dirt getting kicked up and clouds of fine dust filling the air. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

There wasn’t enough dirt here to bury her, but something kept him from leaving just yet. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

They are ancient, full of tears and holes and ground-in dirt stains. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

Feeling drained, she lay down on the hard-packed dirt floor, and she slept. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

Mr. Bridges clapped his hands together and called out, “All right. Now let’s get this dirt cleaned up.” Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

The air was so clouded with blowing dirt that men waded through drifts a foot and a half deep. Unbroken 2010-11-16T00:00:00Z

Eager to leave, they roared out of the village on the narrow dirt road. Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam 2018-04-10T00:00:00Z

What I thought was dirt turns out to be charred blisters. Without Refuge 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

He grunted as he tried to stick his shovel into the dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

But the field had no grass, was little more than a rectangle of dirt and stones. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I was starting up the driveway when I noticed something shiny in the dirt at the edge of the road. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

He and poor old Edgar Derby were pushing an empty two-wheeled cart down a dirt lane between empty pens for animals. Slaughterhouse-Five 1969-01-01T00:00:00Z

All around the barn, the storm had churned the dirt near to mud. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

His feet look like animal paws in sandals, heavily calloused with thick nail- claws and coated with dirt. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

While they waited, they pulled weeds around the chili plants and shoveled dirt around the low places in the rows of corn where the water might be lost. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

Her eyes stared up at us from the dirt. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

He stabbed his sword into the dirt, adjusted his shield straps, and pulled on his horsehair helmet. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

Emergency vehicles race up the road to Mobius, and protestors cover their mouths and noses with bandannas or tuck their faces into their shirts to avoid the billowing clouds of dirt. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

Ma says the ground level is undesirable because dirt gets into the house and nosy people are always peeking in, so of course only poor people live on the ground level. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

At 8:32 A.M. on a Sunday morning, May 18, the north side of the volcano collapsed, sending an enormous avalanche of dirt and rock rushing down the mountain slope at 150 miles an hour. A Short History of Nearly Everything 2003-05-06T00:00:00Z

Not surprising—when it comes to the Ida B. Wells, politicians keep sweeping the dirt under the rug and it just keeps piling up. Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

There was a dirt road from somewhere in the woods leading up to it. Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel 2011-09-15T00:00:00Z

“I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your bootsoles.” Paper Towns 2008-10-16T00:00:00Z

So she was, and soon two slippery, shiny, brand-new calves were lying in the dirt of the pit, and Tansy was licking and nuzzling them gently. The Midwife's Apprentice 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

I kneel Viola down to the dirt road. The Knife of Never Letting Go 2008-05-05T00:00:00Z

Maybe they could make it past the camp, then follow the dirt road back to civilization. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Georgie picked up a stick and began drawing little figures in the dirt. The Old Willis Place 2004-09-20T00:00:00Z

He bounded over a fallen oak tree, his long claws churning up the dirt. City of the Plague God 2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

The smell that came up wasn’t what I’d expected—not of death, but mold and old dirt. Hollow City 2014-01-14T00:00:00Z

Her eyes were the yellow of crookneck squash, and the nails of her grasping hands had been broken down, her fingers covered with dirt. Dread Nation 2018-04-03T00:00:00Z

In the spaces between the roots, I see not dirt but water, and metal rods holding the roots in place. Insurgent 2012-05-01T00:00:00Z

She climbed over the fence and knelt in the dirt. The Woman Warrior 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

I brush aside more dirt, but no other symbols or words appear. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

I heard shovels and saw dirt flying out of a hole. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

There were hints of handsome beneath the bruises and dirt. Salt to the Sea 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

He walked slowly across the dirt patio and greeted Ultima. Bless Me, Ultima 1972-01-01T00:00:00Z

He grunted occasionally to show he was listening and directed the horse along a dirt path. The House of the Scorpion 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

A breeze tussled through the trees, sending poplar leaves spinning like golden coins down onto the rutted dirt road. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

The air near the dirt was a little clearer. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge 2018-09-25T00:00:00Z

This road was no longer dirt and mud, but laid out in stone. Crispin: The Cross of Lead 2002-06-01T00:00:00Z

I was picturing myself driving down a dirt road, clouds in the blue sky, U2 playing in the background. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe 2012-02-21T00:00:00Z

Alec stopped and leaned far down to examine some dirt next to a trampled bush. The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin) 2012-08-14T00:00:00Z

He led us all the way to an intersection where the paved road met a dirt road that disappeared off into the corn. The Season of Styx Malone 2018-10-16T00:00:00Z

JT grinned at her, and his smile blinded us all to the fact that there wasn’t a bit of grease or dirt on his clothes. The Lions of Little Rock 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

A gull is pecking at the dirt, scouting for leftover graham cracker crumbs. Al Capone Does My Shirts 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z

Rain and dirt had blended into a heavy goo along the rail; breaking from the three post, Seabiscuit would be right down in it. Seabiscuit: An American Legend 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then she hopped down on the ground, turned her back on me, and started scratching up the dirt. Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer 2015-05-12T00:00:00Z

Then he took off in a blaze of speed, his bare feet churning on the dirt. Stella by Starlight 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

I tipped the bag toward the light and saw that it wasn’t a pile of dirt—it was a pile of crumbs. When You Reach Me 2009-07-14T00:00:00Z

Toby set the suitcase down in the dirt. A Tangle of Knots 2013-02-05T00:00:00Z

Their hands and faces were all caked with blubber smoke, soot from the Primus camp stove, and dirt, and some of the men tried washing up in the snow. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World 1998-11-17T00:00:00Z

The earth explodes into showers of dirt and plant matter. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

She stood and began digging her fingers into the dirt trickling through the broken shelves. The Strangers 2019-04-02T00:00:00Z

Then he and Mrs. Cadaver gouged and prodded and tunneled around in the dirt until the poor old rhododendron flopped onto its side. Walk Two Moons 1994-06-30T00:00:00Z

Muti hadn’t stopped his yelps and howls, and as we placed our hands on him and pressed him into the dirt floor, his cries grew even louder. The Ugly One 2013-06-11T00:00:00Z

Terrible winds and thunderstorms had swept through Washington early that morning, dissolving the dirt streets into a sticky muck of soil and garbage. Chasing Lincoln's Killer 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

My mother and I raked them across the front dirt and burned them in the street. Okay for Now 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

At the top, a wide, flat plain dotted with huge ant mounds stretched for a mile, and Joe left the dirt ruts to slalom between the mounds for a ways. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

And then she came into a clearing and he was there—on his knees, digging in the dirt with his hands. Strange the Dreamer 2017-03-28T00:00:00Z

If I could do nothing but play in the dirt all day, I’d be an archaeologist, too. Made You Up 2015-05-19T00:00:00Z

I clutched the seat as we whizzed past our dirt road. Three Little Words: A Memoir 2007-12-27T00:00:00Z

Her footsteps were soft and reassuring on the dirt floor. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

In addition to bite marks and claw marks, the robot was also covered in dirt, which, of course, meant it was time for another cleaning. The Wild Robot 2016-04-05T00:00:00Z

They also found that a piece from one of the spear points was pressed into the dirt surrounding a bison bone. 1491 2005-10-10T00:00:00Z

She and Glen were dirt poor, but Marsha had always compensated for the things she couldn’t give her kids by giving them all of her heart. Just Mercy 2014-10-21T00:00:00Z

We helped Dadi up and moved farther away from the bushes toward a dirt road we could see dimly outlined in the moonlight. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

But the piddle runs down the wall and soaks into the old dirt floor. The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle 2018-01-23T00:00:00Z

Not speaking to your family for all that time, treating them like dirt!’ Into the Wild 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

Alex tucked his knee and slid for home, throwing up a huge cloud of dirt. Eleven 2014-01-06T00:00:00Z

He knelt by the small pit and studied the packed dirt around it. Hoot 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

The gray mule was gone, his bones unfolding somewhere on the red dirt, bleaching white and thin in the sun. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

The work was crushingly hard, the sun brutal, the dirt and ceaseless din almost unbearable, but the spaces were vast, the scenery staggering, and the company fast and fascinating. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

It was nearly noon, and the figures Wash had drawn with a stick in the damp dirt were now dry. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

They asked us a couple questions we had no answers for before they took off, lights flashing, kicking up a cloud of dirt and gravel, dusting up the sun. Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet 2007-04-30T00:00:00Z

She kicked at the dirt between my boots. The Marrow Thieves 2017-05-10T00:00:00Z

This park is where I first learned not to trust kids holding handfuls of dirt and not to jump from things when dared. Where Things Come Back 2011-05-03T00:00:00Z

Doc must have noticed, because he said, “I already told you both why we had to paint the house blue, and showed you how to lay graveyard dirt to deter spirits.” Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

“My ears are ringy. I scraped my knees. And I got some dirt in my eye . . .” Then Esme began to tremble and cry, the shock of what had happened overcoming her again. Hollow City 2014-01-14T00:00:00Z

We were covered with dirt and sweat by the time we finished. October Sky 1999-04-01T00:00:00Z

But as I rose to my feet, a car came bouncing down the dirt road toward Dusty’s dock—a police car, with its headlights off. Flush 2005-09-13T00:00:00Z

Everyone needed a partner to plant: one person made a hole with a stick and dropped in three com kernels, and the other person dropped in three beans and covered up the hole with dirt. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

I fall into the dirt, breathing and gasping and crying—seems like all I ever do is cry—and the dragonflies with their crystal wings still don’t pay me any mind. King and the Dragonflies 2020-02-04T00:00:00Z

The grass was mostly dead, the dirt had gone from brown to gray, and the one tree that did still stand was bare and leaning like a creature over a small child’s nightmare bed. Where Things Come Back 2011-05-03T00:00:00Z

But time wore on, and as the dirt mingled with the sweat on my body, I felt strangely comforted by the chunk, chunk, chunk of the hoe digging into the ground. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

He raised his left hand and I closed my eyes and tried to mash myself down into the dirt. Elijah of Buxton 2007-08-06T00:00:00Z

She handed me a plant, which had a clump of dirt and roots at the base. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

His hands dug into the dirt, pulling at roots and handfuls of earth. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

One of them stands up, and I see that he's wearing the fancy sleeves of a troubadour, though they're caked with the dirt of the road. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

Harry could smell a powerful mixture of dirt, sweat, and, unmistakably, blood coming from him. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2005-07-16T00:00:00Z

They went back up the hill and made their camp in the dry dirt under the rocks and the man sat with his arms around the boy trying to warm him. The Road 2006-09-28T00:00:00Z

Sprays of dirt flew up from the soil, like we were being strafed by gunfire. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

I massaged it a little and brushed the dirt off. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

It was cramped inside, the air a stale haze, the char of many fires scarring the dirt center. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

My throat was dry from the dust and dirt. Dragonwings 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

But after dragging about twenty tires through the dirt, I gave up on that. Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer 2015-05-12T00:00:00Z

Also, some foot kicking, which basically just stirs up a lot of dirt that sticks to her sweat. A Heart in a Body in the World 2018-09-18T00:00:00Z

Another thing that surprised me was that the coffin was cracked in a few places, probably from the weight of all that dirt. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 2005-04-01T00:00:00Z

You might be walking in a grassy field and find a hard bit of dirt where nothing grows. Breadcrumbs 2011-09-27T00:00:00Z

He was looking at my drawing in the dirt. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

The old stone tunnels changed to dirt with cedar beams, like a gold mine or something. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

Of course there were levees—big walls of dirt and concrete that protected the city from all that water. I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 2011-04-01T00:00:00Z

Scott got on his knees and sprayed cleaning fluid in the area underneath the dishwasher, where dirt collected. Genuine Fraud 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

This gray concrete house was a duplicate of the others they had seen on the dirt road. Lupita Mañana 1981-03-21T00:00:00Z

In effect, I had witnessed a crucial event in the emergence of aids, the transformation of a thread of dirt into a ribbon of tar. The Hot Zone 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

What I saw was a dead wild animal, its head lying on the dirt in a widening circle of blood. The Omnivore's Dilemma 2006-04-11T00:00:00Z

They patted the dirt when they were done, filling the hole up again. A Thousand Splendid Suns 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z

Hatchet flicked the last of his scab into the dirt and squinted at the raw skin beneath. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

I spread it out flat and filled it with smaller pieces and bits of ash and whatever dirt I scooped up along with them. Kindred 1979-06-01T00:00:00Z

When I saw something, I used a paintbrush to get rid of the dirt, just like a real archeologist. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 2005-04-01T00:00:00Z

Our Khmer soldiers gut the Youns with knives, spilling their insides on the dirt. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

He smelled of grease and dirt, liquor and cigarettes. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

He tumbled back and planted his rear in the dirt. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

The dirt was packed hard by the feet of those who had passed that way before. Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

It was Croy, a cut over his eye bleeding down onto his cheek, one side of his face covered with dirt. Uglies 2005-02-08T00:00:00Z

We watched one crawl to the graves and begin to eat the dirt, coughing and gagging all the while. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves 2009-10-13T00:00:00Z

Down on our dirt road by the river there are just boats and wormy-looking docks and dock houses and whatever else you build on a flowing river. The Knife of Never Letting Go 2008-05-05T00:00:00Z

But just as I reached to brush the years of dirt from the marker, I heard a scream. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

He jumped from the trunk and scratched at the dirt beneath. Pax 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

He brushed the loose dirt from his shirt and walked up the side road until he got to the oil-top road that led to the church. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

He watched with a sinking heart as the mean-looking boy swaggered up and down in front of the mounds of dirt. The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm 1994-04-01T00:00:00Z

After the woman drove away, we walked to the camp, following a dirt path lined on both sides by eucalyptus trees. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

"The great knight. I can still knock you in the dirt. Remember that, Kingslayer." A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

“Who asked you to help?” the first man asked, chewing his words and then shooting a spray of black tobacco juice into the dirt at Wash’s feet. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

Anya pushed herself up, breath heaving and still spitting out bits of dirt. Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

It took him a moment to realize that it was the dirt which had been on his shovel when he was hit. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

It uncurled upon a nickel, moist and dirty, moist dirt ridged into her flesh. The Sound and the Fury 1929-01-01T00:00:00Z

When we got to the tree line beside the baseball field, they glanced around, then leapt over the metal gate in front of the access road and bolted down the dirt road. Tradition 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z

The dirt driveway led off the road straight for a quarter of a mile before it began winding among the trees. Homecoming 1981-01-01T00:00:00Z

Clothes and dirt and scandal for the girls. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

Then he rode in a jeep on dusty dirt roads into the bush. A Long Walk to Water 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

I turned to “Annabel Lee” and we walked up and down the garden rows, the cool dirt between our toes, reciting the beautifully sad lines. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings 1969-01-01T00:00:00Z

She didn’t question him about them, but she did ask about the symbol, tracing it in the dirt for him: the circle, four lines. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

I looked at Omar, but he twisted the heel of his sandal in the dirt. Amal Unbound 2018-05-08T00:00:00Z

She pointed to a small mound of dirt under the bank. In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse 2015-11-10T00:00:00Z

Nanabozho caught hold of the otter and looked into the otter’s paws and mouth, but didn’t find any dirt. The Birchbark House 1999-07-21T00:00:00Z

“It’s honest-to-goodness cinder, you know? It’s so much better than running on our lumpy dirt road. On that white school track, I feel like an eagle or something.” Stella by Starlight 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

Mack glanced at the burned curtains, at the floor glistening with whiskey and puppy dirt, at the bacon grease that was coagulating on the stove front. Cannery Row 1945-01-01T00:00:00Z

He looked at the large piles of dirt near where X-Ray was digging. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

He was rolled over in the dirt, came out on his knees, facedown. The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

The sunflower I’d been nursing along was broken in half, the yellow petals pummeled into the dirt. Hattie Big Sky 2006-09-26T00:00:00Z

So I just watched her for a little bit while she scratched up all the dirt with her toes and put her eyeball right down near the ground to check and see if anything wiggled. Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer 2015-05-12T00:00:00Z

The night bombers didn’t need paved surfaces or even runways; the pilots just pointed their planes into the wind and took off from the dirt or the grass. A Thousand Sisters 2019-01-22T00:00:00Z

Behind the Stagecoach Pass, at the center of the dirt trail where Billy and Fred lug around an endless stream of screaming children, stands a mountain. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

Uncle coughed politely, and when he saw him, Father jumped to his feet and began to brush some of the dirt from his shirt. Dragonwings 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

She scanned the fingernails of the little hand she held, and slid a black sickle of dirt from under the thumbnail. The God of Small Things 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

“His nose is always running. Maybe we should never have cleaned him up. He was accustomed to that layer of dirt.” Gathering Blue 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

We work side by side, using flat-bottomed trowels and occasionally shears to cut the vines and roots that weave through the blanket of dirt. The Adoration of Jenna Fox 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

He stood on his long legs in the middle of the dirt road, his long neck towering above the car, and looked down his long nose at us. My Life with the Chimpanzees 1988-03-01T00:00:00Z

I sat next to my giant saguaro awhile looking down at poor old Billy and Fred, endlessly hauling kids around the dirt trail. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

He fell down and got up and stumbled after her, his red face all smeared with dirt and blood. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

Lucas Cader was picking dried dirt from the knees of his blue jeans. Where Things Come Back 2011-05-03T00:00:00Z

It was a barbarous thing, a blind clayey hole with folding chairs for the family teetering on one side and raw dirt heaped on the other. The Secret History 1992-10-16T00:00:00Z

I broke my fingernails as I tried to claw my way through the dirt to her, when Uncle Abdullah grabbed me and tossed me toward his wives. Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z

Grim keeps this crummy little mower in the shed, but what's the point of mowing dirt, right? Freak The Mighty 1993-10-01T00:00:00Z

I duck into the bathroom to wash my hands even though there ain’t a speck of dirt on them. Finding Langston 2018-08-14T00:00:00Z

They followed her, shuffling and scratching primly in the dirt. Sarah, Plain and Tall 1985-04-25T00:00:00Z

With both hands on the wheel, he stared at the dirt road. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

When my atoms trickled back together, the first thing I became aware of was this: I have dirt in my mouth. 100 Sideways Miles 2014-09-02T00:00:00Z

It reeked of rotten turnips, and he could see flecks of dirt in it. Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps 2001-03-01T00:00:00Z

Bailey can see the brown dirt beneath that has been kicked up by so many feet walking over it. The Night Circus 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

She’d camouflaged her face and arms with dirt like a soldier in a war movie. Beauty Queens 2011-05-24T00:00:00Z

Time to suck some dirt, as they said down the mines. Artemis Fowl 2001-04-26T00:00:00Z

I dig my hand in again, the dirt here so much blacker than back home. Paper Towns 2008-10-16T00:00:00Z

The reliefs go out, the observers stagger in, covered with dirt, and trembling. All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel 1929-01-01T00:00:00Z

I watched them toss the first shovelful of dirt into the grave. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

It is 1660, and she has just turned thirteen: too old for a proper German girl to be crouching in the dirt, according to her mother. The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

It was as if he had given up; he had accepted the radioactive dirt and it had begun its job, long ago, of burying him. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 1968-01-02T00:00:00Z

He leans down, seizes Penn by his neck before he has recovered from his last hit, and pummels him into the isle’s dirt, cracking the ground. Warcross 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

“The west side is built into the hill in the old-style way. Sand and dirt for a roof; just about halfway underground. You can feel it, can’t you?” Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

Back in elementary school, our field was scorched, and you had to watch out for pieces of glass that were sometimes crushed in the dirt. Merci Suárez Changes Gears 2018-09-11T00:00:00Z

“When children play outside,” the expert continued, “their hands pick up dirt, and with it, hundreds of microscopic parasites that enter their bodies through their mouths to live and thrive in their intestinal tract.” When I Was Puerto Rican 1993-09-20T00:00:00Z

I also put in a pinch of dirt from our garden so I’ll always have a bit of the ground you walked on, a piece of my India. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

That well-paved world appealed to him, and he missed it as his feet fell on uneven clumps of hardened dirt that threatened to twist his ankles. An Abundance of Katherines 2006-09-21T00:00:00Z

He finally flicks some dirt from his fingers at me and smiles. The Adoration of Jenna Fox 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

I remember the awe I felt as I watched that pickup roll down the dirt road. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

She used her own nail to scrape out the dirt beneath his nails, and smeared it across her palm. Throne of Glass 2012-08-07T00:00:00Z

Large tree branches had fallen and a clutter of leaves and roof tiles and dust and dirt littered the ground. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z

Outside the night air is brisk, but when we enter Namontack’s house it is toasty warm from a fire in the middle of the dirt floor. Blood on the River 2006-05-04T00:00:00Z

Machine gun fire coming from the roof of the dirt brown warehouse across the alley. Mockingjay 2010-08-24T00:00:00Z

Reluctantly, he climbed up out of his hole, and once again dug his shovel into his previously dug dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

He began throwing dust and dirt on the fire. Fahrenheit 451 1953-01-01T00:00:00Z

The boys grumbled some more but sat in the grass to remove their shoes, clap them together to rid them of the dirt. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

“And you’ve got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?” Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 1997-06-26T00:00:00Z

Arya plunged her face down into it to wash off the dust and dirt and sweat of the day. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

They slipped through the narrow paths and alleys, over jutting roots and hard-packed dirt, turning left and then right and then left again. The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin) 2012-08-14T00:00:00Z

Losing my grip on the saddle, I fell to my knees on the hard dirt. The Shakespeare Stealer 1998-05-01T00:00:00Z

The dirt and germs bother me more than the nasty comments. The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z

We’re headed the long way down the driveway, past the hibiscus hedge, Mami cautious in her spiked heels and tight dress that make walking on the dirt shortcut path too difficult. Before We Were Free 2002-08-13T00:00:00Z

Then I hear them—the muted thump of footsteps in the dirt coming around the corner. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

He followed the stream of cars and pickup trucks down a dirt lane that wound through pine woods and emerged into a large open pasture. The Best of Enemies 1996-04-01T00:00:00Z

There, where the dirt road makes a deep red cut between high yellow walls of grass, you never know what might be coming toward you on dusty feet. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

She dropped her eyes and began digging a little hole in the dirt with the tip of her boot. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 2011-06-07T00:00:00Z

The dirt path going down to the wooden footbridge is dry, dusty; the leaves of the trees which hang over it are dull green and worn-out from the summer. Cat's Eye 1988-09-01T00:00:00Z

Bernabe dropped his cigarette in the dirt and ground it out. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

Usually, we would find scores of them—in trash cans, under rocks, on ledges, or just beneath the dirt. Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

His T-shirt was covered with dirt, and one sleeve was half torn off. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Playing hide-and-seek under the table? Crouching in the dirt? Typical of your kind, but far beneath my dignity.” The Cruel Prince 2018-01-02T00:00:00Z

I had spent the morning knocking down interior walls with a sledgehammer and was covered with dirt and debris as I ate my lunch on the curb. Bad Boy 2001-05-08T00:00:00Z

Khadim was squatting, drawing something in the dirt with a stick. A Thousand Splendid Suns 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z

But Octavian had acted like he had some first-class dirt on her. The Son of Neptune 2011-10-04T00:00:00Z

Suraya kneels in the dirt next to me and begins plucking the shoots of tiny weeds that form around the okra plants. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

So I have two problems: not enough dirt, and nothing edible to plant in it. The Martian 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

I feel the dirt; I caress the dirt; I pack the dirt under my nails, as deep as it will go. What the Night Sings 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

They whipped the wind around us and stirred up a storm of dirt and sand. Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World 2013-10-08T00:00:00Z

The snake fell limp, blood pooling in the dirt. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

Then I cut them up into small pieces with one eye each and reseeded them into new dirt. The Martian 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

She drove into a dirt parking lot outside the fenced area and parked near the few trees. Kira-Kira 2004-02-01T00:00:00Z

There was a lot of dirt, mud, grime—much of it from Todd moving things upstairs and rushing in and out of the house—but the damage could have been far worse. Zeitoun 2009-07-15T00:00:00Z

When he returned to Veracruz, he and his team cleared the dirt around the great head, admiring its fine, naturalistic workmanship, so unlike the stiff, stylized sculpture common elsewhere in Mesoamerica. 1491 2005-10-10T00:00:00Z

“If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could, couldn’t you?” he asked condescendingly. Twilight 2005-10-05T00:00:00Z

Henry veers off the paved road and onto the narrow dirt path. Dry 2018-10-02T00:00:00Z

Scotty had empty sandbags in his rucksack, and we filled them with dirt and made ourselves a little nest. Fallen Angels 1988-01-01T00:00:00Z

To be honest, my memories of that day didn’t include Cramp, but he must have been there, because he had all the dirt. Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet 2007-04-30T00:00:00Z

Somehow, the pools of blood in the dirt always managed to be horrific, the mutilated corpses ever-sickening. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

As the sun rose, so did the familiar haze of heat and dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

A sort of intellectual warmth, the joy of the pedant who has found out some useless fact, shone through the dirt and scrubby hair. 1984 1949-06-08T00:00:00Z

She yelped and ended up with a mouthful of dirt as she sprawled next to the boy on the ground. Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

She looked to the grouchy woman pounding the dirt and leaned toward Mrs. Rimas. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

I scooped up big handfulls of it, piling them on either side of the rectangle, until I reached the dirt below. Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

The bulldozer hauled up a final mound of dirt and then puttered away to make room for the forklift. An Abundance of Katherines 2006-09-21T00:00:00Z

If I die weep at my grave every day until a seedling appears in the dirt, then cry on it to make it grow until it becomes a beautiful tree whose roots surround my body. Turtles All the Way Down 2017-10-10T00:00:00Z

Except for his tattered clothes and a few layers of dirt and grime, he looked as if he’d never fallen into Tartarus. The House of Hades 2013-10-08T00:00:00Z

On a dirt track in the Tanami Desert–normally one of the emptiest places on Earth–they came over a slight rise just as another vehicle was approaching. A Short History of Nearly Everything 2003-05-06T00:00:00Z

No traffic came along the dirt road, and it was quiet except for the crickets in the rocks and a few evening insects buzzing past his face; in the distance dogs were barking. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

We pack the dirt on top of it, pushing it down as firm and flat as we can. How It Went Down 2014-10-21T00:00:00Z

Day after day, we stood there in that freezing mess, with no underwear, socks, coats, or gloves, sleet falling on us, trying to dig out heavy, water-soaked dirt. Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps 2001-03-01T00:00:00Z

Wishbone’s tail swished back and forth in the dry red dirt. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

Gummed into the straw, ground into the dirt, stuck in the fencing, flung against the slats of the wall of their enclosure. Stella by Starlight 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

Below the dirt strata with these objects, though, was a layer of quite different artifacts: bigger, thicker, and not as beautifully made. 1491 2005-10-10T00:00:00Z

The dirt of the girls’ cotton dresses continued on their legs, feet, arms and faces to make them all of a piece. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings 1969-01-01T00:00:00Z

Sula squatted down in the dirt road and put everything down on the ground: her lunchpail, her reader, her mittens, her slate. Sula 1973-11-01T00:00:00Z

Empty potato sacks and orange onion bags cover the dirt floor. Without Refuge 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

While the others broke dirt clods and struggled with roots, picked stones and smoothed out rough rows to plant, Pinch pretended to help. The Birchbark House 1999-07-21T00:00:00Z

My job was to follow in his tracks, take shovelfuls of loose dirt and rocks and clumps of old crabgrass, toss everything into piles on my right. We Were Here 2009-10-05T00:00:00Z

The process of looking up a letter and scraping it in the dirt takes a couple of seconds. The Martian 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

“We’ve got to find a place to hide for the night, before they find us,” Velia said, looking to either side of the dirt path. Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

It sank so deep, nothing was left but a scar of fresh dirt. The Son of Neptune 2011-10-04T00:00:00Z

“Lower your voice this minute, Neel. And both of you, take off your sandals. It’s hard enough to keep this hut clean without the two of you dragging mud and dirt in here.” Tiger Boy 2015-10-01T00:00:00Z

Tree limbs blew through the air as if they were nothing but tissue paper, while bits of dirt and pebbles stung Ivy’s face. Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

Mr. Finkle wrapped an arm around me and guided me down the dirt path away from the people surrounding our trailer. The Million Dollar Shot 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

Small artillery fire whined around them, and grenades exploded, throwing plants and dirt into the air. Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam 2018-04-10T00:00:00Z

She still had her hat on, and her shoes were dusty, as though she had been walking in deep dirt. The Bluest Eye 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Did you climb trees and make pictures in the dirt with sticks and skip rocks in the rain puddles? The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

We asked about the dirt road through the village and were told it stretched all the way to Léopoldville. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

Some fall crawling in the dirt of Forrestville, Tennessee, in the dark, impossibly young and alone, for no good reason at all. The Serpent King 2016-03-08T00:00:00Z

I felt around the bottom of the bag and touched some keys on a ring, resting in a pile of dirt, or maybe crushed leaves. When You Reach Me 2009-07-14T00:00:00Z

Choking, his face streaked with dirt and sweat, he clambered out of the ditch and ran blindly forward. Stormbreaker 2000-09-04T00:00:00Z

He heard the crunch of someone else’s sandals in the dirt, following him. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

After the last shovel of dirt was patted in place, I sat down and let my mind drift back through the years. Where the Red Fern Grows 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

Covered in dust and clumps of dirt, they hurried inside to clean up before their mother found them. Shooting Kabul 2010-06-22T00:00:00Z

Doc kissed a tiny bottle of some liquid he pulled from his pocket and pressed it into the dirt. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

After play started again, anything that didn’t actually roll in the dirt was called a strike. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

He was gagging on the dirt, then he was gagging on his filthy finger. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

Then I scoot after them, wiping away any marks we made in the dirt, and carefully lifting the board back into place. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

Dallas had climbed out of his sleeping bag and was picking rocks out of the dirt and sailing them into the brush. Ruby Holler 2002-02-01T00:00:00Z

The pink paint underneath the dirt is also being removed. Counting by 7s 2013-08-29T00:00:00Z

It slams into the dirt on my right with the force of a slimy bullet. Fast Pitch 2021-08-31T00:00:00Z

In the meantime, because Farmer feels like walking some more, we begin marching along a dirt road, the route the truck will have to take. Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

I took shortcuts, crossed dirt streets strewn with charred vehicles, putrid garbage and rotting dogs. Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography 1986-01-01T00:00:00Z

Flies buzz in the air, drawn by dirt and debris. Without Refuge 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

The Roberts’ house was the last one on the street, but he walked right past it, to where the oyster-shell street gave way to the dirt path across the southern marsh. Jacob Have I Loved 1980-01-01T00:00:00Z

She could look down over a short stone wall onto an oval dirt field. Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

We used to ride around on the dirt roads on their farm. Walk Two Moons 1994-06-30T00:00:00Z

Why were some of the streets blocked off by big dirt walls? I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 2017-08-01T00:00:00Z

“Who knows? They made dirt in the morning and me that afternoon.” Song of Solomon 1977-01-01T00:00:00Z

Her dark blood splattered, staining the dirt as she roared. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

I pluck about a cup of dirt at a time. The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle 2018-01-23T00:00:00Z

At last the first animal, a big black one, stepped out into the clearing of the dirt road, followed by another that was just as big but much lighter in color. The Omnivore's Dilemma 2006-04-11T00:00:00Z

Either way, when I got in, she looked at me, my shirt stained with grass and tears and dirt, my hair with little pieces of leaves stuck in it, my face snotty. Sparrow 2017-10-10T00:00:00Z

With a quick clasp of Kit’s hand she was gone and Nat, shouldering her trunk in one easy motion, followed her along the narrow dirt road. The Witch of Blackbird Pond 1958-12-01T00:00:00Z

She went down first, but her ankle twisted on the last step, sending her sprawling over the dirt floor. Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

She bent one knee and dug the toe of a ragged gym shoe into the dirt. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

“You bet your shiny tin badge I do. This creep tried to blind me, too. Threw dirt in my eyes!” Hoot 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

I saw that she'd made a circle of dirt around the other three plants. Seedfolks 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

I grabbed a pair of gloves from Abuela and got onto my hands and knees to help spread the dirt around the base of the floribunda bush. The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora 2017-05-16T00:00:00Z

It was almost dusk, the wind had dropped, and I saw old men squatting in the dirt, Papa and some of his cronies, muttering and smoking their cigarettes. Farewell to Manzanar 1973-01-01T00:00:00Z

“If you’re going to leave a note it should at least tell me what—” Bast’s eyes widened as he saw Kote in the light of the inn, pale and streaked with blood and dirt. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

All too soon Stanley was back out on the lake, sticking his shovel into the dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

However, opposite it a sign pointed to a dirt road running off into sparse, piney woods. Homecoming 1981-01-01T00:00:00Z

I walk over to the small sink and run my hands under the water to wash away the ever-present dirt on my fingers, tiny muddy rivulets carrying this place down the drain. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

On the other side of the dam, a path of loose dirt and stones veered almost straight up. Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

Indeed, she perceived the dirt as much as he did, but she had decided just to let it stay. The Metamorphosis 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z

Carlos stood alone inside the circle in the dirt, looking at the can and glancing at us once in a while. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

She bent forward and started drawing in the dirt again. Because of Mr. Terupt 2010-10-11T00:00:00Z

Crouched in the shade of our guava, he planted upright twigs in the dirt. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

Above and below the church were our dwelling places, some forty cottages and huts of wattle and daub, thatch and wood, dirt and mud, all in varying shades of brown. Crispin: The Cross of Lead 2002-06-01T00:00:00Z

I don't want to forget any letters, so I scrape them into the dirt with a rod. The Martian 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Shirls Avenue, my grandparents’ street, apparently turned into a dirt road just before plunging down a steep hill to their house and farm. Homesick 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

It left them and turned fierce, stripping leaves from trees and pulling the dirt from ancient earthen walls. Beauty Queens 2011-05-24T00:00:00Z

Some of the pitches were in the dirt. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

We hopped the fence that surrounded the barracks, skipped over a little creek, and broke into the open dirt field where old, abandoned tanks collected dust. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

Her pink hat slid from her head and fell silently into the dirt. Salt to the Sea 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

He stuck his head in the hole and licked the dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

I didn’t think I could lie in no casket, even if it was cracked some so I could breathe, and hear dirt being tossed on it. 145th Street: Short Stories 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

For the rest of his life he will remember that cold, overcast spring, digging in the dirt, collecting rocks, discovering black and yellow salamanders beneath an overturned slab of slate. The Namesake 2003-09-01T00:00:00Z

Landing in the dirt, she picked herself up and ran. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you to shake a rug outside? You’re covering everything in dirt!” The Light in Hidden Places 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

Lady Seymour still lay beside me, shaking her head from side to side in the dirt and muttering. Chains 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

We placed the bodies in these shallow graves, covered them with dirt, and went back to camp. Lost Boy, Lost Girl 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

We saw nothing except grass, trees, crops, and the hard-packed dirt path as we moved. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

It had gotten awfully still and you could hear his boots scrape across the hard dirt as he pulled himself up. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

His eyes shone from under the oil and dirt, blazes of blue in clouds of ash. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

After a while, she told the boys to switch places, so that Stanley, Zigzag, and Magnet dug in the holes, and Zero, Armpit, and Squid shoveled the excavated dirt into the wheelbarrows. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

It’s like our faith got buried right along with Mama and now it’s covered over with dirt and a tombstone back in Alabama. Finding Langston 2018-08-14T00:00:00Z

We resumed driving and cut along a dirt road through the prairie. Killers of the Flower Moon 2017-04-18T00:00:00Z

I crouch down in the dirt against one of the big boulders as the light sweeps by again, but the edges of the bright beam fall short of me. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

She swept the cottage’s dirt floor, sprinkled it with water, and stamped it to keep it hard packed. The Midwife's Apprentice 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

The dark leather almost matched the dirt on her skin. Throne of Glass 2012-08-07T00:00:00Z

“Okay,” Ess said, nodding, her face streaked with dirt and tears. Orphan Island 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

His hole was almost up to his shoul-ders, although it was hard to tell exactly where ground level was because his dirt piles completely surrounded the hole. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

I pulled up manioc, knocking away clods of dirt and stuffing it into the duffel. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

Nothing like this, a bird that matched the color of the sky and the country dirt. As Brave As You 2016-05-03T00:00:00Z

I push myself farther back against the bank, and some of the loose dirt and rocks give way. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

I kicked at dirt and yanked on leaves and hurled gravel into the woods. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

And then they were at the end of the dirt road, and a gigantic house was in front of them. Raymie Nightingale 2016-04-12T00:00:00Z

A glimpse of a shining yellow shell of a school bus coming down a dirt road. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

Chiron scraped a hoof on the dirt floor. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

As I ate, I noticed Wahid’s boys, all three thin with dirt- caked faces and short-cropped brown hair under their skullcaps, stealing furtive glances at my digital wristwatch. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

At some point a bare plank floor had been installed over the packed dirt. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate 2009-05-12T00:00:00Z

The wives of the umunna took the leftover food, even the cooked rice and beans that Mama said were spoiled, and they knelt in the backyard dirt to thank Papa and Mama. Purple Hibiscus 2003-10-01T00:00:00Z

He rotated it and only had to chip off a few chunks of dirt, here and there, before it could lie flat across his hole in every direction. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

On the lake they were all the same reddish brown color—the color of dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

When she came to a fork in the dirt road she turned right, and drove down a lane so narrow the big car left no room on either side. Go Set a Watchman: A Novel 2015-07-14T00:00:00Z

“A whole lot cleaner than shaking dirt off fruit.” Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish 2018-08-21T00:00:00Z

With a stick Ray Gusdorf drew a line in the dirt. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

“That was brick dust mixed with something special: graveyard dirt.” Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

He swished the roots back and forth in the pond to wash off some dirt, then chomped and chewed. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge 2018-09-25T00:00:00Z

When the dirt fell away, the wound was gone. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

And I’m reaching across his shoulders, accidentally smearing bits of dirt on his black winter jacket. The Sea in Winter 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

I poured the last of the dirt, and the three lines of powder—Jay’s, Doc’s, and mine—came together in a broad oval around the house. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

Jon Snow fed a few sticks to the fire, buckled on his swordbelt, pulled on his boots, shook the dirt and dew from the cloak, and fastened it around his shoulders. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

The dirt is only viable soil because of the bacteria growing in it. The Martian 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

I push my hand into the soot and dirt. Paradise on Fire 2021-09-14T00:00:00Z

We ran through the alley and some gardens, then back onto another dirt road. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

He pointed to a spot halfway up one of the dirt mounds. Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then, in slow motion, the bird leaned back and crashed to the dirt of the alley behind Mitchell’s. The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

Ben turned down the dirt road that led to Toomer’s, braking the car hard when he hit some holes that sent the car airborne. The Great Santini 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

The old people used to say a pinch of dirt in the mouth can tell tobacco's story: what crops are ready for picking what needs to be left to grow. Brown Girl Dreaming 2014-08-28T00:00:00Z

Police found me two days later, wandering the dirt roads west of Calypso, wearing a grocery bag for underwear and covered in hickies I couldn’t explain. We Are the Ants 2016-01-19T00:00:00Z

“Fine then. Empty your dirt and then set him up with a mule and a wagon,” he said before he turned and headed to his shed. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

He flung the dirt back over his neck and shoulders in great clouds of dust. Old Yeller 1956-01-01T00:00:00Z

I rubbed my palms together but only managed to smear the dirt around even worse. Darius the Great Is Not Okay 2018-08-28T00:00:00Z

He’d roll and wallow in the dirt and go dragging his body through tall weeds, trying to get the scent off; but he couldn’t. Old Yeller 1956-01-01T00:00:00Z

She thought many times of the muskrat diving down, down, down for that little bit of dirt that made the world. The Birchbark House 1999-07-21T00:00:00Z

Several men with shovels had begun another line, heaving dirt from the Spencers’ front yard onto the flames that were creeping into the grass. Stella by Starlight 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

For now, the lot was bare, save for dirt, stones, and weeds. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

He didn’t have to go to the river for water, sleep on dirt floors, or use candles for light. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

But it would have achieved little, digging up the dirt of yesterday. Half of a Yellow Sun 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

Really it is not the dirt itself that keeps us going, but the maíz, the corn, along with pumpkins and frijoles, which spurts up from it. Beast Rider 2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

With so much moisture in the air and loose dirt from both tectonic upheavals and the new species of flora tearing up the topsoil, it was like thin mud being thrown constantly in your face. The Marrow Thieves 2017-05-10T00:00:00Z

My hands scrape along the dirt when I put them down to break my fall. Girl in the Blue Coat 2016-04-05T00:00:00Z

We followed him down a dirt road into the country and came to a small shingled house. Hole in My Life 2002-03-26T00:00:00Z

“Well, I stood in a warehouse for ten hours and picked mushrooms out of the dirt.” The Book of Unknown Americans 2014-06-03T00:00:00Z

Boys pride themselves on their drab clothing, their drooping socks, their smeared and inky skin: dirt, for them, is almost as good as wounds. Cat's Eye 1988-09-01T00:00:00Z

Then she slid down to the ground, her face pressed against the door, her boots dragging roughly across the dirt floor. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

We walked along the dirt path for miles in the heat of the morning, resting often and drinking from the three huge gourds of well water Teresita’s husband had given us. Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

I remember the dirt road, his laugh, the hot bike underneath me. Everything Sad Is Untrue 2020-08-25T00:00:00Z

Hair uncombed, dresses falling apart, shoes untied and caked with dirt. The Bluest Eye 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

He could see a small pile of dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Gently, I settled the first coneflower in the earth and packed the powdery dirt in around the roots. Red Kayak 2004-09-23T00:00:00Z

His eyes were brown, not dirt brown, but bronze—penny brown. Hope Springs 2021-08-10T00:00:00Z

Then she smiled and brushed Sefia’s cheek, smudging her with dirt. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

James’ hands were brown with dirt and his nails were black. Homecoming 1981-01-01T00:00:00Z

Next, we take the cow farther down the dirt road, to the groves of fruit trees on Don Arturo’s property. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

I plowed through the dirt, rolling over and over. City of the Plague God 2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

Over the last few days, I got in all the dirt that I'll need. The Martian 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

“The place was made for us. There’s dirt just an inch or two under the floor. We can dig a bunker, maybe, beneath the boards, for when someone comes to the door.” The Light in Hidden Places 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

One day during recess—while doing some stick sketching in the dirt—I took a deep breath and plunged ahead. Because of Mr. Terupt 2010-10-11T00:00:00Z

I pushed it into the dirt and stepped all of my weight onto it. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 2005-04-01T00:00:00Z

He circled the spot of the flashlight; the floor was carpeted with black dirt and he saw two bricks lying in corners. Native Son 1940-03-01T00:00:00Z

The tears cleared away the dirt from my eyes, stinging as they crossed my split lips. The Marrow Thieves 2017-05-10T00:00:00Z

Nate wove through a crowd of soldiers building an enormous wall out of dirt and rocks. I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 2017-08-01T00:00:00Z

She missed me and sprawled in the soil, then picked up a big handful of the dirt, sprinkled it over her body, and proceeded to lick it up. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

I watched it puddle in the dirt, the smell of it rising into the night. The Secret Life of Bees 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

She knelt down beside her mother’s grave, which was whole and untouched, and wiped away the dirt and moss that had overgrown the headstone. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

It was a good thing, too, since the dirt seemed to come off me in slow layers. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

I took a step closer to the loose dirt. Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel 2011-09-15T00:00:00Z

“Without all that dirt on him, he’s sort of handsome.” Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

It wasn’t much more than a meandering dirt lane, one car wide in spots, cutting through the blandness of sagebrush and ducking down to an anemic border river. Seabiscuit: An American Legend 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

Broken beams of the fading sunlight arrowed across the dirt floor, but it was mostly dark. The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin) 2012-08-14T00:00:00Z

I wasn’t walking on a dirt road, I was slipping across the frozen river. Fever 1793 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

It tasted like dirt and grass and a spice that made her eyes water, plus an unwelcome sweetness. Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

“Put the extra dirt in a cart and pull it back to that chamber. Someone will get rid of it for you.” The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm 1994-04-01T00:00:00Z

The maize field was at the end of a long, rutted dirt road that led up a rise. 1491 2005-10-10T00:00:00Z

I looked back as the dirt went crashing. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

After this escape, I was content to take a foggy view of the Inn through the window’s encrusting dirt, and to stand dolefully looking out, saying to myself that London was decidedly overrated. Great Expectations 1861-08-01T00:00:00Z

“This must be how Bat Lady goes in and out—through this dirt road. She can park and go in and no one would ever see her.” Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel 2011-09-15T00:00:00Z

But he would yank her head down, and as soon as her hooves touched the dirt, kick her a second time, harder, knowing she would rear again. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

Dressed only in my bra, underwear, and flip-flops, I step outside to let the water wash away the dirt, pain, and bitter disappointment that courses through my body. Love, Hate & Other Filters 2018-01-16T00:00:00Z

“Dead as dirt. The cart crushed ’em, Chief.” Redwall 1986-10-23T00:00:00Z

There was a streak of dirt from his trouser cuffs to the knees. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

His footsteps shushed on the dirt path as he walked away. Book Scavenger 2015-06-02T00:00:00Z

She poked it through X-Ray's dirt pile, to see if anything else might have been buried in there as well. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Heaving dirt from a pit, I would hear on another man’s breath some song half-sung in time to his swing; the engineers called their instructions, wending their way through our deep, loamy fosses. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

“Yes,” I replied, and looked at the tiny spirals of dirt rolling along the stained blade of the knife. Dead End in Norvelt 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

In the morning, the sun rose and the cricket song gave way to bird song and an old woman came walking down the dirt road and tripped right over Edward. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane 2006-03-30T00:00:00Z

Kelley could feel blood squelching around in his boots, and his uniform was crusted with fresh and dried blood, sweat, dirt, and vomit. Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam 2018-04-10T00:00:00Z

When I tossed a clump of dirt on the coffins, Papa put his arm around my shoulder. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Under the low, palm-thatched roof he could see stone-dusted figures moving about among the great blocks and slabs of stone that stood here and there upon the cluttered dirt floor. The Golden Goblet 1961-04-24T00:00:00Z

Some, however, stayed behind to toss one last layer of water and dirt on the smoldering remains. Stella by Starlight 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

I kicked the dirt and huffed and sulked as I wandered aimlessly. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

Just our luck, a church made of dirt. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

I watched the brown rivers of dirt run down my legs, over my ankles, and into the drain. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. The Titan's Curse 2007-05-11T00:00:00Z

So many textures—prickly pines, rough, crackling wood, smooth leaves, velvet brush cover, and weeds and dirt. Paradise on Fire 2021-09-14T00:00:00Z

He inhaled and took in the smell of moss and rich dirt, which he’d never smelled before. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

The house itself was identical to hundreds of others built on postage-stamp-size plots on dirt roads. Long Walk to Freedom 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

Brooks objected: A cabinet made “a good receptacle for dirt, mice too.” The Devil in the White City 2003-02-11T00:00:00Z

The dirt beneath was rich and marbled with the white roots of those plants which grow in darkness. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

She whacked her tail on the dirt, hard as could be. Willodeen 2021-09-07T00:00:00Z

Two steel rails ran the visible length of the tunnel, pinned into the dirt by wooden crossties. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

They sprinted down the dirt road, Ben taking a commanding lead with every stride, until he heard Sammy trip over a stump and somersault into an oleander bush. The Great Santini 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then I draw a line in the dirt a few feet from the force field as a reminder to keep back, and Peeta and I settle down to roast nuts and sear cubes of rat. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

Gabe, watching intently, found his own bare feet shifting in the dirt; he panted, imitating the wrestlers. Son 2012-10-02T00:00:00Z

A heavy load of dirt sat on my body. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

Charlie pointed at the jeans ripped in both knees, the white shirt so stained with blood and dirt it would have to be tossed. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

And you didn’t live in the woods without getting a smear of dirt here and there, no matter how often you bathed up in the stream. The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin) 2012-08-14T00:00:00Z

All I had to do was look at the piece of curled-up rind lying in the dirt beside him, with all the meat gnawed off. Old Yeller 1956-01-01T00:00:00Z

Suddenly the fine brown dirt became mixed with thick black smoke. Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

I went out fifteen minutes before the top of the hour and smoothed out a big area of dirt. The Martian 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

I go downstairs early, and it's only me and the dirt, which I now realize has a gritty top, like someone sprinkled coarse sea salt on a gray cracker. Counting by 7s 2013-08-29T00:00:00Z

I did not know what they would grow into, but planting them deep in the cool dirt was a comfort. Chains 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

There was a cry from the arena floor, and I jumped back as the centaur crashed to the dirt beside me. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

Down a lonely dirt road deep in the woods, we ate venison in a falling-down country shack belonging to some more distant cousins. Becoming 2018-11-13T00:00:00Z

Thomas followed, wrinkling his nose up at the sudden smell of dirt and manure coming from the animal pens. The Maze Runner 2009-10-06T00:00:00Z

Mix black mountain dirt some sweet corn flour and a little water. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

He drops to his knees in the dirt. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

Susie kicked at a mound of fine dirt, and a flood of reddish ants poured out, but she walked through them without a blink. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

Miguel hauled himself to his feet, brushed the dirt off the seat of his jeans. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

It spilled into the dirt floor, and the dirt collected around his leg, almost like a cast. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

If you’re keeping up, that means they don’t just have a god who listens or a god who speaks, but a god who puts his finger in the dirt and swirls it. Everything Sad Is Untrue 2020-08-25T00:00:00Z

As we ate, a car pulled up the dirt road that led to our place. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

I scraped up a ring of dirt around the first plant, to hold the water and any rain that fell. Seedfolks 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

On the cereal shelf there needed to be five of every kind of cereal, even the nasty ones that taste like dirt until you put sugar on it. Ghost 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

I was drying my hands on that towel in his bathroom, and it was a white towel, and then it was smeared with dirt, and I thought, ‘Good.’ A Heart in a Body in the World 2018-09-18T00:00:00Z

Olga’s body will turn to dirt, which will grow into trees, and then someone in the future will step on their fallen leaves. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter 2017-10-17T00:00:00Z

Finally, in frustration, I jam one end into the dirt. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

He pointed to an old man dressed in ragged clothes trudging down a dirt path, a large burlap pack filled with scrub grass tied to his back. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

They hit a dirt floor, and Thomas couldn’t see a thing until Minho turned on a single lightbulb by pulling a string. The Maze Runner 2009-10-06T00:00:00Z

He was drawing circles in the dirt with his foot and looking all mopey. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

“Before you get in the car, I want you to scrape your shoes. If I find dirt in my car, you’re going to be the ones vacuuming it.” Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

He picked up a small stick and traced in the dirt. Touching Spirit Bear 2001-01-09T00:00:00Z

Think about it like this: When you get dirt in your shoe, do it feel good? Patina 2017-08-29T00:00:00Z

Crowds of bright flowers were rising up from the dirt. The Wild Robot 2016-04-05T00:00:00Z

I use my fingernail to flake off some dirt. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

The dirt of the path was spongy and pungent with yesterday’s rain. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

I took a deep breath and pushed the blade of the shovel into the earth and got busy filling a wheelbarrow with dirt. Dead End in Norvelt 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

As Woolf had noted in the darkness the night before, the week’s rains had soaked into the dirt. Seabiscuit: An American Legend 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

In those days he could run down stairs, get on and off his pony by himself, and wield a wooden sword good enough to knock Prince Tommen in the dirt. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

Out of nowhere, someone jumps on my back and almost pitches me forward into the dirt. King and the Dragonflies 2020-02-04T00:00:00Z

What he should have done, he realized later, was knock one of his dirt piles back into his hole. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

The white rose had landed on a mound of dirt. Kira-Kira 2004-02-01T00:00:00Z

The dirt road is dusty and hot beneath the soles of my sneakers, and sweat tracks down from the top of my head and across my back, making my T-shirt stick to my skin. King and the Dragonflies 2020-02-04T00:00:00Z

I heard the scrabbling of feet on dirt and dried leaves. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

The numbness that had settled on him when he saw the man he loved and admired fall off the fence; something wild ran S> through him when he watched the body twitching in the dirt. Song of Solomon 1977-01-01T00:00:00Z

In the distance, where such a short time ago he had played with such power and joy, she spotted his beloved drum, crushed and in splinters in the dirt. Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

He is the grubbiest person I have ever seen, his skin dark with the dirt of years it seems. Beast Rider 2019-03-01T00:00:00Z

He watches me lick my thumb and scrub dirt from my face, and he becomes excited. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

The boy lands on one of the soldiers and knocks him to the ground in a shower of dirt. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

I cough, trying to spit out the dirt that fills my mouth. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

Then they came out on the oil-top road that ran along the Humble Oil camp and turned onto the packed dirt road that led to their new house. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

The yard was packed thick with a dry bed of sand-like dirt. Anger Is a Gift 2018-05-22T00:00:00Z

I turned into the dirt path and crashed into the Ford, making the bumper curl up and shattering the window in back. In the Time of the Butterflies 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

He looked at the paper a hundred times and practiced drawing the letters in the dirt with a stick, over and over again. A Long Walk to Water 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

She remembered the sensation of falling after she’d leaped from the Night Zoo’s wall, the impact as she’d landed feetfirst in the dirt and stumbled. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

The boy stabs at the dirt with the stick. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

I said, “Thanks, old lantern, more than you’ll ever know. I’ll always take care of you. Your globe will always be clean and there’ll never be any rust or dirt on your frame.” Where the Red Fern Grows 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

A bit of saliva colored the leaves at my feet, so I covered them with dirt. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind 2009-09-29T00:00:00Z

We wouldn’t see him again until dusk, dragging down the dirt road, his wooden toolbox pulling on his arm, making his body list sideways. When I Was Puerto Rican 1993-09-20T00:00:00Z

My pants were soaking wet with a combination of dirt, car oil, and urine. The Freedom Writers Diary 1999-10-12T00:00:00Z

It’s around 2,600 square feet, and covered fully by hardscrabble brown dirt on one side, with nearly eight feet of land above the structure of the roof. A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age 2014-09-23T00:00:00Z

With his fingernail, he scraped a path of dirt off the kid’s forearm. Maniac Magee 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

I filled it up with the rocks and dirt and stomped the mound down, then gathered leaves and spread them over the dirt. Hole in My Life 2002-03-26T00:00:00Z

The back of her neck ached from keeping her head bent, and occasionally her eyes blurred between the dirt and leaves she had to search through to keep focused. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

Robert turned on his signal but didn’t enter the dirt parking lot. The Parker Inheritance 2018-03-27T00:00:00Z

I dug my toe into the dirt and let him pull me out. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

He rubbed the dirt from the steel and pressed the cold handle to her open palm. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

He winks at me, kicking his foot in the ground to create a cloud of dirt that’s meant to distract. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

I want to dig through the dirt, climb through these tangled limbs, inspect this gnarled trunk. I Can Make This Promise 2019-10-01T00:00:00Z

It had been such a rainy May, and the basement felt appropriately cryptlike: cobwebs around the doorframe ghosting our faces, that smell of dirt and rot and trapped air, and it was dark, totally dark. The Miseducation of Cameron Post 2012-02-07T00:00:00Z

"It's nothing . . . a speck of dirt," I said, standing and holding out the sample, a tightness growing within me. Invisible Man 1952-01-01T00:00:00Z

I took a whiff too, but all I smelled was dirt. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

The soles of his boots were caked with dirt and there was trail dust on the hem of his long jacket. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

We was back to dirt road and it was all old wood- frame warehouses. Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Suddenly, out of the darkness, two debil trucks drove by, lighting up the dirt road and catching Teacher Sarah in their headlights. Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z

Education would pull them out of the grime and dirt. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 1943-01-01T00:00:00Z

A woman had thrown herself down near the body of a child and was rolling around in the dirt, crying. Half of a Yellow Sun 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

Ridgeway and his opponent scuffled in the dirt, grunting and hollering. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

“Lost? Us? Shoot, we’re on this scrubby patch of dirt on this hillside. Maybe we don’t know where exactly this hillside is, but I’m sure we’ll be fine, just fine.” Ruby Holler 2002-02-01T00:00:00Z

I took my hat off to wipe at the dirt and blood high on my forehead. The Honest Truth 2014-10-07T00:00:00Z

There the pavement ended, and rutted dirt roads began. October Sky 1999-04-01T00:00:00Z

To explain the dry land, the Babylonians added that Marduk had placed a mat on the face of the waters and piled dirt upon it.' Cosmos 1980-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Your bean,” said Clary, pointing at the little pot of dirt on the windowsill. The City of Ember 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

I idly kicked a few more clods of dirt into the hole with the toe of my boot. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

She was wiping the dirt and grime from my face with a wet washrag when Papa tore through the front door. Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

Certainly not the late-night lurker and his crying wife, and definitely not the stomping dirt trackers. Ophie's Ghosts 2021-05-18T00:00:00Z

A few wisps of hay swirled lazily across the hard dirt. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

Along with some other cousins and neighbors, we split into teams of five, then hunted one another in the maize rows and across the dirt courtyard that separated our house from Geoffrey’s. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind 2009-09-29T00:00:00Z

I sat down and used it to draw in a patch of hard dirt. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

He unsheathed his longsword and drew a line in the dirt. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

The guardhouse has landed on a dirt road, and it stretches out before us like a never-ending carpet. Dragons in a Bag 2018-10-23T00:00:00Z

Several feet away, on the other side of the tent, there was a gap where the edge of the Hema had slightly lifted from the dirt. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

Charlie grabbed a rag from his back pocket and tried to clean his hands, but they were so filthy, all he did was smear the dirt around. We Are the Ants 2016-01-19T00:00:00Z

He wiped blood and dirt from his mouth with the back of his hand. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

Most of the cages were patches of dirt surrounded by iron bars, with forlorn gorillas or restless bears or irritable monkeys or anxious gazelles huddled in the corners. The Glass Castle 2005-03-01T00:00:00Z

I pretend to nibble on my cookie for as long as possible, but the peanut butter tastes like dirt. Amina's Voice 2017-03-14T00:00:00Z

Colin heard a rumbling, looked up, and saw a bulldozer out in a dirt field behind the warehouse. An Abundance of Katherines 2006-09-21T00:00:00Z

I finished patting the dirt down with my fingers, and while Mom watered the plants, I stood up, wiping my hands off on my jeans. Red Kayak 2004-09-23T00:00:00Z

A sparrow hop about in the middle of the road pecking at dirt. Rebecca 1938-08-01T00:00:00Z

There were no sidewalks or grass or paved anything at Stagecoach Pass—just dirt and old wooden buildings with old wooden steps and old wooden porches that looked like they might collapse at any time. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

I swept a space under its shelter, dusted dirt from my hands, and sat. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

The faint smell of manure was everywhere, but the walls were whitewashed and the dirt floor swept clean. Fever 1793 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

He has bright blue eyes, dirt on his face, and a beat-up old cap on, and at this moment, I think he might be the most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

He was filthier than usual, with dirt encrusted on his face and ringing his scalp. Three Little Words: A Memoir 2007-12-27T00:00:00Z

They used the shovel as well as cupped hands to scoop the dirt. Book Scavenger 2015-06-02T00:00:00Z

The path through the village was dirt and pebbles. A Place to Belong 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

As we walked across the dirt, tufted with dark green grass, Doc lifted his straw hat and wiped his brow with his fingertip towel. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

Along the dirt roads, the gutters were filled with small rivers of filth and debris that smelled of rotting food and rank liquids. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

Koffi sprinted down the path, feet pounding in the red dirt with each step. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

Ten minutes later we come to the wash, and I breathe a secret sigh of relief, because it means this was the right dirt road after all. Dry 2018-10-02T00:00:00Z

I spat a litany of things I’ll never repeat for the rest of my life, and he cowered and stared down into the dirt. Tradition 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z

As I wiped at my face, Colton’s head leaned down and then he crouched beside me, quietly picking googly eyes out of the dirt. Hope Springs 2021-08-10T00:00:00Z

“How can you be so silly,” cried her mother, “as to think of such a thing, in all this dirt! You will not be fit to be seen when you get there.” Pride and Prejudice 1813-01-28T00:00:00Z

They slice the dirt floor into pieces, and I can just make out the crumpled sea daisies. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

Tally held out her right hand, the scarred palm facing up, sweaty dirt tracing the lines on it. Uglies 2005-02-08T00:00:00Z

Raising my head, I quickly get up from the dirt and crawl on my hands and knees behind a tree. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

And then, treasure or no treasure, they'd head up the dirt road. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Father sipped his tea and set the cup down carefully on the dirt floor. Dragonwings 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

Farmer kneels on the dirt floor and takes the man’s pulse and blood pressure, then puts a stethoscope to his chest. Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

I smiled at the ground, kicking at the dirt with my cleat. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

Sure enough, the dirt was heaving up a little. The City of Ember 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

Chubs hit the dirt with a sharp gasp, too stunned to do anything but lie there. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

The girl was then pulled with difficulty from the stage, dragged across the dirt courtyard, and forced into the back of the wagon that Polly leaned on. Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

A plank of wood hung from two thick lengths of rope, with a stretch of bare dirt below, where years of feet had worn away the grass. George 2015-08-25T00:00:00Z

As usual when we got to Aunt Loma’s, the dog plopped down on the dirt sidewalk in front of her house to wait. Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

Here you have Flint and a sidewalk, you take one baby step, and here you have country and a dirt path. Bud, Not Buddy 1999-09-02T00:00:00Z

We walked side by side down the washed-out dirt road on our way back to campus. Looking for Alaska 2005-03-03T00:00:00Z

It had been a full day since he and the other Yaba warriors had emerged from the Greater Jungle, covered in dirt and brambles and debris. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

How I rolled in the dirt like a pig! The House of the Scorpion 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

Soon they had to slow down because trucks were parked bumper-to-bumper up and down the side of the narrow dirt road. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

Raising a cloud of dirt and debris that blackens the sky. Mockingjay 2010-08-24T00:00:00Z

But Howard, he just picked it up, brushed the dirt off of it, and said, “Pineapple, Charlie. Remember?” Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

“Goblin-made armor does not require cleaning, simple girl. Goblins’ silver repels mundane dirt, imbibing only that which strengthens it.” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2007-07-21T00:00:00Z

This was the dirt that we lived on. Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

Joe squatted, automatically picking up a twig and beginning to scratch in the dirt. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

I take two steps down to the packed dirt floor. The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle 2018-01-23T00:00:00Z

What the girls did was to lay the clothes in the water and dance on them until all the dirt was worked out. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes 1942-01-01T00:00:00Z

The meager harvests may be enough for subsistence but can rarely be brought to market because farm villages are often hours away on dirt roads from the nearest large town. 1491 2005-10-10T00:00:00Z

Two days after leaving Ento, the road narrowed and became packed dirt instead of paving stones. Huntress 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

Black lines of dirt rimmed the tips of my nails. A Step from Heaven 2001-04-30T00:00:00Z

I had callused my hands; I had scratched dirt to blacken the nails, which I cut straight across to make stubby fingers. The Woman Warrior 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

He moved his head, and dirt fell off the ceiling of the cave into his eyes and mouth. The Contender 1967-01-01T00:00:00Z

They seesawed the stake back and forth to loosen the dirt until they could pull it free. Book Scavenger 2015-06-02T00:00:00Z

The boat lay upside down, half buried in the dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

I stamp out the fire, bury the charred twigs, and sprinkle the burned spot with dirt. On the Far Side of the Mountain 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Oh, yeah, you be moving dirt all day. That's heavier than cotton.” Life Is So Good 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

I was just hauling a wheelbarrow full of dirt around the side of the house when a huge man roared up the driveway on a motorcycle. Dead End in Norvelt 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

I used the last of the wipes to clean the dirt off my own face. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

His face was caked with dirt, and the smile showed his teeth. Fallen Angels 1988-01-01T00:00:00Z

The car had just passed the zugangi barracks when the hospital door opened and a small thin boy limped down the steps, his right knee bloody and his blue eyes ringed with dirt. The Devil's Arithmetic 1988-01-01T00:00:00Z

Support struts shored up the wooden ceiling and stones embedded in the dirt floor made her stumble. The Underground Railroad: A Novel 2016-08-02T00:00:00Z

His feet hammered a frantic beat against the dirt floor, slowed, stopped. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

She squatted and pushed her fingers deep into the soil, then pulled them out and stuck them back into a different place in the dirt. As Brave As You 2016-05-03T00:00:00Z

A hundred paces away, the rest of the family huddles in the dirt in a tight little knot, half hidden by rising dust. Without Refuge 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

This diaper style probably works best when the babies are crawling outside and their pee just soaks into the dirt. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

The bus took a deep dip as it pulled off the narrow road and onto a smaller dirt one. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

One moment the sack was flying through the air, and the next thing Stanley knew the sack was in his hole and the seeds were spilled across the dirt. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Dumbledore and Harry followed him onto a narrow dirt track bordered by higher and wilder hedgerows than those they had left behind. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2005-07-16T00:00:00Z

He grimaced as he sliced off a chunk of dirt, then raised it up and flung it onto a pile. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

But truth is it’s just all rock and dirt and people are roughly the same. The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

Before I scrambled down, unused rifle on my back, I sought out Rose, spying her and Wab embracing in the dirt expanse between the woods and the road. The Marrow Thieves 2017-05-10T00:00:00Z

In that moment, my knees give out and down I sink, into the dirt and the weeds and the trash. All The Bright Places 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

Her face was sweaty and streaked with dirt and under it all her skin looked pasty. Time Bomb 2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

She reached down to help him stand, but he remained in the dirt of the road. Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

Finn jabbed the shovel into the earth, stamped on the footrest, tossed the dirt over his shoulder, jabbed, stamped, tossed, jabbed, stamped, tossed. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

Finally, in the seconds that seemed longest, the truck bounced, shimmied, and slowly trailed up the dirt and gravel driveway of our great-grandmother’s house. Gone Crazy in Alabama 2015-04-21T00:00:00Z

The dirt floor was circular, just big enough that you could drive a car around the rim if you pulled it really tight. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

On either side of the crossroads, two dark metal torch-stands erupted from the dirt like plant stalks. The House of Hades 2013-10-08T00:00:00Z

Blood ran from the wound, mixing with dirt and small bits of bark. A Single Shard 2001-04-23T00:00:00Z

He could picture the mother owls and father owls, helplessly flying in circles while their babies were being smothered under tons of dirt. Hoot 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Yearling pawed the dirt nervously when he saw it; Shawn moved slowly, letting him smell the stirrups and nibble curiously at the horn. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

Calypso stood at a washbasin, cleaning the dirt off her arms. The House of Hades 2013-10-08T00:00:00Z

She removed her braids, careful to leave her scalp unscratched, to leave undisturbed the dirt that would protect it. Americanah 2013-05-14T00:00:00Z

“We’ll start the runway at the cornfield and that leads to the dirt road out to the long pasture so we’ll get about enough distance to take off.” Dead End in Norvelt 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

I left then as he was brushing floor dirt from the rat. Milkweed 2003-09-09T00:00:00Z

She was still staring at him, eyes determined and focused, with her feet buried in the dirt. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

I had watched Granddaddy poke a hole in the dirt with a pencil before tenderly easing the fragile green stalk into its new home. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate 2009-05-12T00:00:00Z

Here and there under the dirt there were the red scars of wounds, and near the ankle the varicose ulcer was an inflamed mass with flakes of skin peeling off it. 1984 1949-06-08T00:00:00Z

But the small girl playing in the dirt only whimpered and spat; she had tried tasting some pebbles, in the way of toddlers, and had found herself with a mouthful of foul-tasting grit. Gathering Blue 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

I followed their directions down a long, winding dirt road full of impossible turns through a heavily wooded area. Just Mercy 2014-10-21T00:00:00Z

Rocks, dirt, barbed wire, ferocious dogs, menacing guards, and acre after acre of drab barracks stretched as far as I could see. The Boy on the Wooden Box 2013-08-27T00:00:00Z

I was also listening for rioters, for the scrape of shoes on the dirt, the first sounds of yelling growing closer, or the crackle of a torch. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

I sat on the grassy shoulder and wrote my name in the dirt with a stick. Three Little Words: A Memoir 2007-12-27T00:00:00Z

She asked Papa to seal the base of the tent by piling extra dirt, about six inches high, all around it outside so that animals, especially snakes, could not crawl underneath during the night. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

Lily wiped years of dust and dirt from the window. We'll Fly Away 2018-05-08T00:00:00Z

I think she’s going to crash headfirst, but she plonks herself onto the dirt and slides down on her backside in a cloud of dust and a scattering of pebbles. Without Refuge 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

He's still two feet from the water, lying there, teeth gritted, tears cutting trails in the dirt on his face. The Hunger Games 2008-09-14T00:00:00Z

My feet burn when I start walking again on the stones and dirt off the highway. Without Refuge 2018-04-01T00:00:00Z

Dallas scratched at the dirt with a stick. Ruby Holler 2002-02-01T00:00:00Z

Roz wandered the island, covered in dirt and green growing things, and everywhere she went, she heard unfriendly words. The Wild Robot 2016-04-05T00:00:00Z

In the kitchen sink, she washed off the dirt and wrapped it again in the crumpled tissue paper. Beauty Queens 2011-05-24T00:00:00Z

He wiped the dirt off of it and realized it was an onion. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

Countless times on that long Santa Anita backstretch Seabiscuit’s legs reached out over the track, stretching to gather up the ground, pounding down into the dirt, then folding up under his belly. Seabiscuit: An American Legend 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

I pushed the tip of my finger through the dirt on the floor, drawing his name. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

He took a stick and drew a heart in the dirt on the path beside her garden. Messenger 2004-04-26T00:00:00Z

A street turned off at right angles, descending, and became a dirt road. The Sound and the Fury 1929-01-01T00:00:00Z

A thin crust of dirt spread from the ghoul’s hand, straight up Eurymachus’s spectral arm. Blood of Olympus 2014-10-07T00:00:00Z

He moved his head again, and tasted more dirt. The Contender 1967-01-01T00:00:00Z

Large families lived in small, crude lean-tos with dirt floors and roofs made of banana bark thatch, often patched with rags to stop leaks during the rainy season. Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

She had dreamed the night before that she was walking down the hard-packed dirt path that led from the Wood to the hawthorn tree where her mother was buried. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

As he walked, he picked dangling guts and dirt from the fish. Touching Spirit Bear 2001-01-09T00:00:00Z

It was completely uninhabited, not a single bush or tree, just barren dirt to a shore of endless water. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

He leads the way down the dirt path, through the trees that create a perimeter around the garden. Love, Hate & Other Filters 2018-01-16T00:00:00Z

A smudge of dirt ran from his front pocket to his waist. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

“I can feel when I’ve found one. Then I have to snap the stem, brush off the dirt, and toss it in the collection bin. Pero tan rápido. We have quotas to make.” The Book of Unknown Americans 2014-06-03T00:00:00Z

“Putrid weeds,” Florida snarled, heaving a clod of dirt over her shoulder. Ruby Holler 2002-02-01T00:00:00Z

I turn and see a hardened clod of dirt on the ground. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

Very little illumination made it through the dirt and wood covering the windows. Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel 2011-09-15T00:00:00Z

On the edge of the black pool, beneath the shelter of the heart tree, Maester Luwin lay on his belly in the dirt. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

Was Will Russet right—was she even pretty under the dirt? The Midwife's Apprentice 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Hindus killed my family,” he sobbed into his hands, his face pressed against them in the dirt. The Night Diary 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

Roy poked the tip of the dead branch through the loose dirt, but it yielded no clues. Hoot 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

Colin lay down on the dry, orange dirt and let the tall grass swallow him up, making him invisible. An Abundance of Katherines 2006-09-21T00:00:00Z

He dug his shovel into the dirt, then slowly turned to dump it into a pile. Holes 1998-08-20T00:00:00Z

At the end of the street, dozens of men were building another big dirt wall. I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 2017-08-01T00:00:00Z

I watched him poke at the dirt with a stick. The Old Willis Place 2004-09-20T00:00:00Z

Not the poverty or dirt or noise, not just extreme unregulated passion where even love found its way with an ice pick, but the absence of control. Song of Solomon 1977-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Well, I don’t trust you. I have this gut feeling you guys have been trying to drag my name through the dirt over in Cal-i-for-nia.” Starfish 2017-09-26T00:00:00Z

Scraggly grass poked out between the cracks and in the brown dirt around the tree. When I Was Puerto Rican 1993-09-20T00:00:00Z

He bellowed, and sand poured out, but he was too far up to touch the earth, and the dirt did not rise to help him. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

Never really thought much about Alabama’s red dirt roads, but now, all I can think about is kicking up their dust. Finding Langston 2018-08-14T00:00:00Z

Barren and pock-marked, all dirt and no trees, fenced in all sides, a gold mine resembles a war-torn battlefield. Long Walk to Freedom 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

I sighed in frustration and beat my fists against the dirt, hot on top from the close fire, but cold underneath. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

Her freckles stood out like little smudges of dirt on her nose. The City of Ember 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

I kick the dirt, and it’s so rock hard, not even a tiny bit of dust comes up. A Good Kind of Trouble 2019-03-12T00:00:00Z