Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor

by Robert Burleigh, Raïl Colïn (Illustrator)

Overview

“A finely told, beautifully illustrated biography that saves a world class scientist from obscurity.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“An ideal introduction to a lesser-known scientist and an important understanding about how the Earth works.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Filled with gorgeous illustrations by acclaimed artist Raúl Colón, this illustrated biography shares the story of female scientist, Marie Tharp, a pioneering woman scientist and the first person to ever successfully map the ocean floor.

Marie Tharp was always fascinated by the ocean. Taught to think big by her father who was a mapmaker, Marie wanted to do something no one had ever done before: map the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Was it even possible? Not sure if she would succeed, Marie decided to give it a try.

Throughout history, others had tried and failed to measure the depths of the oceans. Sailors lowered weighted ropes to take measurements. Even today, scientists are trying to measure the depth by using echo sounder machines to track how long it would take a sound wave sent from a ship to the sea floor to come back. But for Marie, it was like piecing together an immense jigsaw puzzle.

Despite past failures and challenges—sometimes Marie would be turned away from a ship because having a woman on board was “bad luck”—Marie was determined to succeed. And she did, becoming the first person to chart the ocean floor, helping us better understand the planet we call home.

Award-winning author Robert Burleigh tells her story of imagination and perseverance. Beautifully illustrated by Raúl Colón, Look Up! is a book that will inspire readers to follow their dreams.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481416009
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	01/05/2016
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	98,162
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Robert Burleigh is the award-winning author of many books for children, including The Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn, illustrated by Barry Blitt; Night Flight, illustrated by Wendell Minor; Black Whiteness, illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop; and Sylvia’s Bookshop, illustrated by Katy Wu. His many other books include Hoops; Stealing Home; and Clang! Clang! Beep! Beep! He lives in Michigan.

Raúl Colón has illustrated several highly acclaimed picture books including the New York Times bestselling Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt and Susanna Reich’s José! Born to Dance, which received a starred review in Booklist. Mr. Colón lived in Puerto Rico as a young boy and now resides in New City, New York, with his family.

Editorial Reviews

12/14/2015
Burleigh and Colón follow 2013’s Look Up! with the story of another female scientist, Marie Tharp. Raised by a mapmaker, Tharp developed an early interest in exploring uncharted land; her passion eventually led her to the oceans. Burleigh gives readers an up-close view of Tharp’s experiences and hunches through a first-person perspective: “Could the seafloor really be mapped? I thought so—and I wanted to give it a try!” Despite discrimination she faced as a woman, Tharp became an accomplished scientist, mapping the Atlantic using soundings and helping advance the theory of plate tectonics. Colón’s warm watercolor-and-pencil art brings warmth and energy to the pages through his thatched and wavelike textures, while an afterword provides further detail about Tharp’s undertaking. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agency: Morgan Gaynin. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Though her discoveries were pivotal to the theory of plate tectonics, geologist and cartographer Marie Tharp is still relatively unknown. In this picture-book biography, Burleigh presents Tharp’s story in her own enthusiastic, imagined voice. “Maps. I love them!” she exclaims before describing her life and accomplishments. In a conversational tone, she discusses her curiosity, her struggles to be accepted in the boys’-club atmosphere of 1950s research labs, her dogged determination to work in science, her belief in her sea-floor-mapping project, and her satisfaction at seeing her beautiful map gracing the walls of schools and museums. Along the way, she explains depth soundings, cartographic concepts, and plate tectonics. Colón’s soft colored-pencil illustrations are a wonderful match for ocean scenes and frequent maps, and a few helpful diagrams further illustrate concepts... very worthwhile. Further reading and some provocative critical-thinking questions close out the volume.

— Sarah Hunter

December 1, 2015 - Booklist

The duo behind Look Up!: Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer

spotlights another groundbreaking woman scientist: Marie Tharp, the oceanographic

cartographer whose mapping of the Atlantic seafloor yielded key evidence

confirming the theory of continental drift. Tharp holds the narrative reins here,

and her voice, as imagined by Burleigh, generally rings true. As an adolescent, she

describes her passion for maps and imagines one speaking to her: “Have an adventure.

Explore. Discover something new”—a bold challenge for a young woman

in the 1930s. Burleigh also touches on the discrimination Tharp faced. Applying

for a position as a scientist, she is informed: “We don’t need any more file clerks.”

A sexist boss won’t let her join ocean expeditions: “Having a woman on a ship is

bad luck.” (No sources are provided for these quotes.) Burleigh’s writing is clear,

conversational, and lyrical on occasion. He handles the science content well; it’s

never too dry or overly technical. He also portrays scientists realistically, actively

engaged in and arguing about their work. Colón’s illustrations, a textured wash

of sea- and earth tones, are thoughtful and attractive and accurately reflect the

time period. A final, memorable spread shows a contemporary girl looking over

her shoulder at Tharp; it’s a subtle nod to Tharp’s importance as a role model, as

well as to the importance of other women scientists, past, present, and future.

Back matter includes further biographical details, a glossary of science vocabulary,

a bibliography, websites (one with a slight error), and related activities.

January/February 2016 - The Horn Book Magazine

Though her discoveries were pivotal to the theory of plate tectonics, geologist and cartographer Marie Tharp is still relatively unknown. In this picture-book biography, Burleigh presents Tharp’s story in her own enthusiastic, imagined voice. “Maps. I love them!” she exclaims before describing her life and accomplishments. In a conversational tone, she discusses her curiosity, her struggles to be accepted in the boys’-club atmosphere of 1950s research labs, her dogged determination to work in science, her belief in her sea-floor-mapping project, and her satisfaction at seeing her beautiful map gracing the walls of schools and museums. Along the way, she explains depth soundings, cartographic concepts, and plate tectonics. Colón’s soft colored-pencil illustrations are a wonderful match for ocean scenes and frequent maps, and a few helpful diagrams further illustrate concepts... very worthwhile. Further reading and some provocative critical-thinking questions close out the volume.

— Sarah Hunter

December 1, 2015 - Booklist

★ 12/01/2015
Gr 2–4—In this excellent biography of scientist Marie Tharp, Burleigh, writing in the first person, allows this adept geologist and oceanographic cartographer to tell her own story. Map lover Tharp became one of the 20th century's most important scientists, despite working in a field that greatly favored men. With fellow geologist Bruce Heezen, she mapped the world's oceans. Colón's signature softly hued, textured watercolors greatly enhance the text. One image depicts a research ship in the water upon which scientists took measurements called soundings to chart the ocean's depth. The writing is accessible and immediate, and though Burleigh acknowledges that Tharp was a woman working in a man's field, he casts her story in a happy light. A biographical page is appended, as well as thorough back matter. VERDICT A finely told, beautifully illustrated biography that saves a world class scientist from obscurity.—Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI

School Library Journal

★ 2015-09-21
Working in a time when women were still unwelcome in her field, Marie Tharp mapped the ocean floor and provided convincing evidence for the previously rejected hypothesis of continental drift. Burleigh's choice to write in Tharp's voice makes the determined geologist's story feel immediate, focusing tightly on her map that revealed the spreading Atlantic sea floor. He notes obstacles she overcame: a peripatetic childhood; gender discrimination; the superstition, still prevalent in 1948, that women were unlucky on ships; and disagreements about the drift theory even with her friend and colleague Bruce Heezen. There's a short description of Tharp's mapmaking process and a triumphant conclusion when the final, color version is published. But it's Colón's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations that bring her story alive. Readers see the map-loving child, ships taking the soundings that provided her data, the cartographer with pencil in hand, both graphing and drawing, and, in a wordless double-page spread, the exciting revelation of the rift in the middle of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The distinctive combed swirls of Colón's art masterfully suggest light on a seascape, and people are realistically depicted. Backmatter includes more of Tharp's story, useful vocabulary, bibliography and Internet links, and even "things to wonder about and do." An ideal introduction to a lesser-known scientist and an important understanding about how the Earth works. (Informational picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews