How the Sea Came to Be: And All the Creatures In It (Spectacular STEAM for Curious Readers (SSCR)) - Hardcover

Berne, Jennifer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802854788 ISBN 13: 9780802854780

Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2023

Synopsis

***THREE STARRED REVIEWS***
A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids 
A Chicago Public Library Kids Best of the Best Book
Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year List - STEM & Outstanding Merit 

A poetic, amazingly illustrated journey through the history of the ocean―from its dramatic evolutionary past to its marvelously biodiverse present.

Spanning 4.5 billion years of evolution, Jennifer Berne’s extensively researched book is an accessible introduction to geology, oceanography, and marine biology. Entrancing verse, awe-inspiring art from Amanda Hall, and wide-ranging back matter capture the mysterious beauty of the ocean and the incredible organisms who call it home. 

Berne spent years studying evolution and the undersea world to tell this story with lyrical, rhyming verse that makes it an accessible and intriguing introduction to geology, oceanography, and marine biology. Hall’s work was shaped by her own reading, conversations with scientists, and explorations at London’s Natural History Museum and Cambridge’s Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences.

Ideal for STEM/STEAM learning, the book also features comprehensive back matter that includes author’s and illustrator’s notes, an illustrated timeline, key terms and concepts, recommended reading, and more. 

Part of Eerdmans’ Spectacular STEAM for Curious Readers series.

Awards

The New York Public Library Best Books for Kids List 
Chicago Public Library Kids Best of the Best Books List 
The Children’s Book Committee of Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year List - STEM & Outstanding Merit 
Michigan Reading Association Great Lakes Great Books Award for Grades 2-3 Nominee 
The Children’s Book Council Teacher FAVORITES List 3rd-5th Grade 

About this title

About the Authors

Jennifer Berne is an acclaimed children's author whose books include On a Beam of Light, Manfish, On Wings of Words (all Chronicle), and Look Up with Me (Katherine Tegen Books). She has been fascinated by the ocean since her childhood, and this book is based on her countless hours of research about evolution and the undersea world. Jennifer lives in the hills of Columbia County, New York, and spends her summers sailing along the coast of Maine. Visit her website at jenniferberne.com.

Amanda Hall has illustrated over fifty award-winning books for young readers, including Out of this World (Balzer & Bray), Little Bear (Wisdom Tales), and The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau (Eerdmans). The art of How the Sea Came to Be was shaped by her reading, conversations with scientists, and explorations at London's Natural History Museum and Cambridge's Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences. Amanda works in her garden studio in Cambridge, England. Visit her website at amandahall- illustration.com.

Reviews

K-Gr 4—Covering billions of years of Earth's history, Berne skillfully traces the origins and evolution of the oceans and oceanic life through poetic rhyming text, sparing readers from excessive jargon while allowing millenia to fly by. The text alone is excellent, but pushing the book into the realm of extraordinary are Hall's enveloping watercolor, gouache, pencil, pastel, and digital illustrations. From scenes of dark volcanic origins to the stormy gray-flooded seas, the pages convey the excitement and volatile climate of a very young Earth. Once life enters the picture, readers are transported into an Escheresque world of seemingly alien early life forms. Eventually, the book arrives at an ocean life familiar to most readers, but Hall treats them to a vision that requires them to turn the book vertically to truly understand the depths that deep-sea creatures inhabit. Very detailed end notes and further resources provide a good jumping-off point for more ocean exploration. VERDICT From the moment readers open this book and see its beautiful, frenetic endpapers, it's clear they are in for a fantastic journey into the depths of the ocean. A first-purchase for all collections.—Kadie Seitz

Edition details

• Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802854788
• ISBN 13: 9780802854780
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Hall Amanda
• Number of pages: 56