Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp Revealed the Ocean's Biggest Secret

(Hardback)

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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. 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 ata laboratory in 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.

Reviews

One of Amazon.comsBest of the YearPicks
One of CCBCsBest Books for Kids and Teens Fall 2020
One ofCanadian Children's Book NewsBest Books of 2020
Listed onA Mighty Girl's 2020 Books of the Year
One of the Ontario Library Association's 2020 Best Bets selection, Junior Non-Fiction category

PRAISE FOR Ocean Speaks:

Asplendid homage to one of the science world's great thinkers. --STARRED REVIEW,Shelf-Awareness

"Imaginative and attractive . . . the text clearly shows the intelligence, hard work, and quiet determination that led to[Tharps]success." --Booklist

An intriguing tale of feminism, scientific exploration, imagination, focus, and resilience." --Kirkus Reviews

A wonderful introductory biography of a woman changing the world from behind the scenes. --School Library Journal

The text espouses curiosity and determination . . . These are pictures that reward the observant eye, a fitting choice for a book that honours the complexity and beauty of oceanographic cartography. --Quill & Quire

Tharps interesting story is effectively simplified for a young audience. --Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books

This exuberant new picture book . . . is a tribute to an influential yet little-known scientist and the power of perseverance! --A Mighty Girl

Young brains, meet a mapmaking hero. --Bloomberg MapLab

Author Bio

JESS KEATING is a zoologist-turned-author who writes with the sort of wisdom you can only get from multiple crocodile bites and skunk sprays. Jess has been making up stories for as long as she can remember, and at the age of eight, she even started a library in her room (mainly so she could charge her brother late fees). She is the author of Shark Lady, Pink is for Blobfish, What Makes a Monster and Cute as an Axolotl. She lives with her husband in Ontario, Canada, where she is hard at work on her next book. KATIE HICKEY is a freelance illustrator living in Cornwall, England. Having grown up in Cornwall, and also in the middle-east, Katie takes inspiration from her travels and surroundings to create characterful and atmospheric images. She has illustrated two other picture books- The Lumber Jills and Once Upon a Magic Book.