Children's Book Review: Ocean Speaks by Jess Keating

Title: Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp Revealed the Ocean's Biggest Secret
Author: Jess Keating
Illustrator: Katie Hickey
Pages: 40 pages
Expected publication: June 30th 2020 by Tundra Books (NY)

GoodReads Description: "Meet Marie Tharp (1920-2006), the first person to map the Earth's underwater mountain ridge, in this inspiring picture book biography from the author of Shark Lady.

From a young age, Marie Tharp loved watching the world. She loved solving problems. And she loved pushing the limits of what girls and women were expected to do and be. In the mid-twentieth century, women were not welcome in the sciences, but Marie was tenacious. She got a job in a laboratory at Cambridge University, New York. But then she faced another barrior: women were not allowed on the research ships (they were considered bad luck on boats). So instead, Marie stayed back and dove deep into the data her colleagues recorded. She mapped point after point and slowly revealed a deep rift valley in the ocean floor. At first the scientific community refused to believe her, but her evidence was irrefutable. She proved to the world that her research was correct. The mid-ocean ridge that Marie discovered is the single largest geographic feature on the planet, and she mapped it all from her small, cramped office."

MY REVIEW:

5 beautifully illustrated, inspirational stars!

The illustrations in this book are absolutely stunning!  They may be my favorite illustrations I have ever seen!  The colors are beautiful.  The complexity of each picture is amazing.  And yet they are so child-friendly!  So well done and gorgeous!

I also loved the subject of this book and its encouraging message for girls!  You can be whatever you want to be!  It also encourages girls (and boys) to learn about science and the world around them.  I absolutely loved this beautiful little book!

• Visit the ocean!  Or an aquarium! (During stay-at-home orders, there are lots of online live webcams at aquariums)
• On a smaller scale, you could also visit a lake or river near you - and then map it!
• Talk about your child's dreams and the possibilities of what they could be when they grow up based on their interests!  (There are so many cool careers out there I didn't even realize existed!  Research it together!)

FOLLOW ME (please) and see more reviews @ www.mamaneedsabook.blogspot.com

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!