Review by Booklist Review
Geologist Nogués introduces readers to the information that can be obtained about the fossil record by using geological methods. A caregiver and child take a walk through the countryside and up a mountain where they discover a trove of oyster fossils. How and when did they get there? What follows is a relatively complex discussion of geologic time, strata layers, dating techniques, plate tectonics, and evidence of an ancient sea. The text operates on several levels: as straight narrative, in related full-page sidebars, and through informal conversations between the adult and child. Information is clear and succinct, but the details may prove challenging for younger readers. Lora's mostly full-bleed gouache artwork makes use of greens, browns, and reds and will help readers visualize the concepts discussed. She makes good use of cutaway views and spot art for certain details, and her sidebars, like "Tiny Marine Beings," are particularly informative. Smoothly translated from Spanish and appended with a glossary that expands on key terms, this makes an accessible introduction to an underreported topic.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
How did an outcrop of fossilized shellfish wind up on top of a mountain? With this question, Spanish geologist Nogués (Stories in a Seashell), who specializes in paleontology, invites readers on a journey to learn more about Earth and the ancient life forms that once inhabited it. Static landscapes in cool greens and browns shift to fine-grained vignettes that illuminate an engaging, conversational back-and-forth: "Did they climb up here? Did they fall like rain, carried by a hurricane?" The cake-like layers of earth Lora (Hello, Earth!) paints, rendered in gouache on paper, present part of the story: "The strata, like a music score, can be read--they have an order, and they can sing us a song." The narrative goes on to cover an impressive amount of ground, from the appearance of early life to the development of radio-carbon dating and the different ways that the surface of the earth moves and buckles. Schimel's clear, natural translation offers an engaging, step-by-step introduction to the way paleontologists think through problems--and proof that the top of the mountain, and those oysters, were once under the sea. Back matter features a glossary and brief creators' notes. Ages 6--10. (Sept.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
"How did the oysters get up to the top of a mountain?" Nogues combines a geologist's eye, a teacher's cadence, and his own joy and wonder about the world to organize explanations of geologic time, fossil formation, stratigraphy, and mountain building into a puzzle to be solved. The superbly creative text takes the form of an interchange between narrator and learner, starting with a perceived anomaly -- sea creatures at the highest point on land -- and then moving through a series of questions, eliminating incorrect alternatives and reveling in eureka moments, to arrive at the logical conclusions formed by centuries of scientific thought. Readers immerse themselves in the "language of rocks," asked directly by Nogues (in first- and second-person narration) to observe objects within the gorgeous and varied sea-toned illustrations by Asiain Lora (Hello, Earth!, rev. 7/21); and they can use the child and adult figures present in all of the main illustrations to imagine themselves as geologists in the field. Sidebars throughout provide additional information about the scientific principles and discoveries, and a glossary is appended. Danielle J. Ford November/December 2021 p.134(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Something amazing might be found on a mountain walk. The first pages traverse a landscape of meadows, farms, forests, hills, and a rocky mountain, then focus on a pair of hikers, one taller, with pale skin and straight, black hair, and the other shorter, with brown skin and a knit cap, at the top. Nogués' gently humorous storytelling voice encourages observers to think about fossils in seemingly ordinary gravel, soil, and strata. The large trim size gives space for Lora's edge-to-edge painting of rocks, flora, and fauna in greens, grays, and browns. Interspersed pages catalog geologic eras, marine creatures whose fossils can be found in mountain strata, and a look at the slow collision of land masses to form mountains. The conversational narrative, translated from the Spanish, has a simplicity and gentle pacing that build to demonstrate how ideas and discoveries in geology--including the presence of oyster fossils on high ground, the layering of the fossil record, and plate tectonics--fit together to explain the results of eons of geologic time. The sense that the history of the world can be seen in the present is nicely conveyed by the illustrations: A dinosaur appears in a mountain lake, tall ferns sprout from the meadow, the hikers dive under the sea. A glossary interprets seven terms used in geology. A marvelous combination of scientific inquiry and wonder. (author's note, illustrator's note) (Informational picture book. 5-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
