A Gift of Dust: How Saharan Plumes Feed the Planet

by Martha Brockenbrough, Juana Martinez-Neal (illustrator)

From two award-winning creators comes a picture book that reveals the hidden wonders of how Saharan Dust impacts the from slowing a hurricane to nourishing a rainforest.

This dust . . .
of what lived once
sustains what lives today
and what will be born . . .
tomorrow.

An ancient catfish becomes a fossil, and as the lake where it lived dries up, the fossil turns to dust--but this isn't ordinary dust. This dust begins in Chad, West Africa, but winds carry it across the continent, over the Atlantic ocean, to nourish and replenish the Amazon rain forest and beyond. 

A Gift of Dust takes readers on a journey that shows just how interconnected our planet is, and how something so small can have such a huge impact. With lyrical, awe-inspiring verse based in fact, and stunning art from a Caldecott honoree, this is a story for our times.

From the School Library Journal, May 2025 issue
A Gift of Dust: How Saharan Plumes Feed the Planet
Brockenbrough, Martha. ­illus. by Juana Martinez-Neal.
This illuminating book brings an often-overlooked natural phenomenon to life as dust travels on the wind from a dry lake in Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to South America and beyond.
–Tamara Saarinen

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Childrens, Africa, Environment

40 pages, Library Binding

Published May 27, 2025

About the author

Martha Brockenbrough is author of The Game of Love and Death, Finding Bigfoot, The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy, and Devine Intervention, books for young readers. For adults, she has written Things That Make Us [Sic], a hilarious guide to things that can go wrong with English, and It Could Happen to You, a diary of her first pregnancy. She's the founder of National Grammar Day and SPOGG, the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calling this an award contender right away. This is career-best Juana and this is Martha explaining a somewhat abstract phenomenon with lyrical precision. Absolute bravo.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's the story behind the dust coating your windowsill? A fascinating story about a planetary phenomenon that will intrigue kids and adults alike.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am exploring picture books this morning at work. This picture book is educational and beautiful! I love the use of mixed media to tell a story about the natural phenomena of dust particles in the air. I learned about the plumes, something I've never even heard of before, but she uses this information to tell a story we are familiar with: the full circle of birth and support of life. I've never appreciated dust particles and fossilized creatures more until reading this book.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fascinating nonfiction picture book! I had no idea about Sahara dust plumes and their role in global ecology. The writing style is poetic but clear enough to gain a good understanding of how this dust impacts many different ecosystems across the world. Brockenbrough includes more detailed information in the backmatter, as well as further reading suggestions for young readers. Martinez-Neal's illustrations are, as always, stunning. She uses a realistic drawing style and incorporates small specks to make the dust stand out in each drawing. This is a great book for pre-K to early elementary schoolers who are interested in ecology!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought provoking nonfiction picture book about the origin and journey of dust. The book explains how dust is composed of "dirt, pollen, or a bit of a living thing" and has been traveling by the wind all over the globe for thousands of years. With a lyrical text and soft, airy illustrations, this book makes the case that the air we breath today is connected to ancient fossils and that our past, present, and future will remain connected. A lovely book about a fascinating subject!

"This dust . . .
that binds us through time
and space."

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about dust. Not like the dust that gathers on your shelves or under the bed. This dust blows on the wind from Africa, across the ocean. Some of it settles into the ocean and helps feed tiny ocean creatures that then, in turn, feed bigger animals. Some travels to the Amazon rain forest where it restores chemicals and elements that help keep the forest alive and flourishing. And some travels to my home state, Texas. Every few months, there will be a report on the weather that the Sahara dust clouds are headed our way. I knew the dust could create magnificent sunsets. But I did not know that it was created by fossils. Or that the name of the country Chad means lake - and that a lot of this dust originates from a lake that is in the process of drying up. It is very important dust!

At the end of the book, the author goes into greater detail about the dust, how it was created and where it goes. She also talks about fossils and how they are an important source for the dust. The illustrations in the book are simply lovely -- There is a lot of gold for the dust but also blues and bright flashes of color for birds. We start out with a pregnant mom in a nursery looking at dust glittering in the moonlight. By the end of the book, there is a baby. A very "circle of life" motif. I also like the comparisons made to try to help readers imagine the immensity of things. How many capybaries stacked on top of each other would equal a four story building? Not that a capybara would tolerate being stacked... And take a peek under the dust jacket. The cover of the book is different!

[Christie Kaaland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title may be referring to a particle of dust, but it also describes what this book is: a 'gift' of information, art, and language.

From these two, incredible multi award-winning author and illustrator ~~ author Martha Brockenbrough and illustrator Juana Martinez-Neal ~~ comes a fascinating account of the importance of ...a particle of dust! Important to the planet and beyond. Brockenbrough explains in eloquent prose the journey a tiny particle of dust takes from its origin in the dried up Lake Chad in Africa to the Amazon rainforest to the U.S., and along its path the potential damage and more importantly contribution it makes environmentally to the planet.

Martinez-Neal's generously lavish illustrations bring dust to life through hazy yet sparkling images of the geographic surroundings the dust travels. Each double-page is a display to read and reread in detail. Find familiar and exotic animals and plants. Question the choices Brockenbrough makes following a sparkle of dust acrosss the planet. Note exciting new science concepts.

Brockenbrough doesn't shy away from unique imagery or complex scientific concepts. I had to look up what a melon-maracuja swirl was. (Hint: it's not a scientific concept.)

Read this book thrice ~~ for visual feast of the illustrations, the eloquence of the telling, and the fascinating environmental and other scientific facts of a particle of dust's travels.

[YSBR · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are all aware of the dust floating in the air visible in certain degrees of sunlight but are you aware that each bit came from somewhere else? Each might have come from decayed matter from the depths of a dried lake, or have been carried by the wind over many, many miles. Dust particles from West Africa can “ride on the wind” across oceans.  It can nourish the air we breathe and the water in the seas. It can enter both dry places and very wet places, such as the Amazon rainforest. Dust clouds can grow so large that they are even visible from outer space. The plumes can be very heavy, contributing to the colors of sunrises and sunsets.

The illustrations are as magical as the information. Each page appears to be covered over by this ethereal dust in soft, rather mystical shades created with pastels, colored pencils, acrylics, gesso, and fabric on hand-made paper.

Back matter includes “More information about Dust”, explaining where the dust comes from, how fossils form, how the dust forms, how big a dust cloud can become, how far it can travel and the effects of dust on the earth.  Books and other resources for further study are also included. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just about a perfect picture book [4.5 for me!] from two talented creators about a little-known phenomenon. What can anyone expect but elegant language from Martha Brockenbrough, language that elevates its topic and prompts reflection? Lines such as "silvery green trout gulping plankton near the bottom of a giant lake" (unpaged) and "a melon-maracuja swirl, glittering against the blue-green planet" (unpaged) are striking and feel good in a reader's mouth. The relatable examples of the plumes from the Sahara sometimes weighing almost as much as 262 billion basketballs or 120 million female hippos stay in one's mind, especially as the lines are accompanied by rich full-page artwork of hippos, surrounded by dust, all created with pastels, colored pencils, acrylics, gessa, and fabric. I'm sure that I'm not the only person who had never heard of these Saharan plumes or their effect on the rest of the world, but now that I have, I can't stop thinking about them. This special dust has a past, present, and future, and it affects storms as well as rainforests, and the ornate double-page spreads and expressive text pay tribute to what once were living things. Readers will want to read the back matter that offers additional information about this dust. It's all splendiferous!

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blown from the Sahara desert, dust from an extinct lake bed and a fossilized fish makes it way out over the Atlantic Ocean. The dust helps nourish the ocean as well as the Amazon rain forest. Using lyrical, poetic text, Brockenbrough describes for readers this unique process that connects parts of the world that are thousands of miles apart. The illustrations create a stunning accompaniment to this tale of 'a scattered sparkle" of dust and its impact on the world, for good or ill. The fact that this dust can be seen from space makes an amazing picture based on an image from NASA shared in the back matter. This book is not only a work of art itself but it highlights the interconnectedness of the planet despite all the man-made boundaries. In addition to the photograph of the dust being blown across the Atlantic Ocean, the back matter includes more information about the processes involved and the effects they have on the planet. Suggestions for where to find more information online and in books concludes the back matter. Highly recommended both as a great example of picture book nonfiction and as an open door into the world of ecosystems and global connections. How small things can have a great effect.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We are stardust, we are golden. . ."--Joni Mitchell

What does it say about me that I learn so many things from picture books that lead me to further study? A Gift of Dust is a book beautifully illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal and written by Martha Brockenbrough, introducing us to the importance of dust to the planet.

The publisher tells us: "An ancient catfish becomes a fossil, and as the lake where it lived dries up, the fossil turns to dust--but this isn't ordinary dust. This dust begins in Chad, West Africa, but winds carry it across the continent, over the Atlantic ocean, to nourish and replenish the Amazon rain forest and beyond.

A Gift of Dust takes readers on a journey that shows just how interconnected our planet is, and how something so small can have such a huge impact. With lyrical, awe-inspiring verse based in fact, and stunning art from a Caldecott honoree, this is a story for our times."

Plumes of dust? Huge dust clouds! I assumed dust--like smoke from forest fires, or the ash from Mt. Saint Helens ash--was just bad for you. Now I have another rabbit hole to go into! And maybe I can use this as a way of refusing my turn dusting in this old house? I am not sure I can get away with that. ..

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Bill’s 2025 Caldecott Project)

A Gift of Dust: How Saharan Plumes Feed the Planet.

Lush multimedia illustrations of pastels, colored pencils, spattered acrylics, gesso and fabrics trace a mote of dust in a ray of light and then recreate the journey of an infinitesimal speck which may have come from wind scoured fossils in an ancient dried lake in Chad in Northern Africa, rising in huge clouds of dust that float across West Africa and the Atlantic seeding the ocean with nutrients to help the sea make the air we breath and feed all the plankton and larger life forms in the ocean. The dust cloud moves on to the Amazon Rainforest, where particles seed the raindrops and return phosphorus and other nutrients to the soil to make it one of the greenest places on earth. These huge clouds of dust can be seen from space, feeding ocean and jungle, causing both good and bad. The illustrations feed the imagination, the text feeds us unknown details, and is followed up by two pages of More Information About Dust.
I wonder if this could be a Robert F. Sibert contender?

[Helen Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When a sunbeam slips through a window in a certain slant of light, you can see a scattered sparkle: dust! “ is how A Gift of Dust: How Saharan Plumes Feed the Planet begins. Written by Martha Brockenbrough and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, this book is a beautiful combination of words - which are poetic and illustrations - which sparkle. The scientific explanations of Saharan dust as it makes its way around the world are so clear and interesting, “…All that rain washes away phosphorus, a nutrient that plants need to grow tall and strong. But the dust brings phosphorus back, making the rainforest the greenest place on earth.”

And the span of time involved is amazing: An ancient catfish becomes a fossil, and as the lake where it lived dries up, the fossil turns to dust, and the dust travels...

I will never think of dust in the same way again! Well the dust in this book isn’t ordinary dust, I’ve lumped all dust together as a nuisance, something extra, something we do not want around and now I’m fascinated by it and the important role it has in all of life.

[Zan Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

From two award-winning creators comes a picture book that reveals the hidden wonders of how Saharan Dust impacts the world: from slowing a hurricane to nourishing a rainforest. This dust . . . of what lived once sustains what lives today and what will beborn . . . tomorrow. An ancient catfish becomes a fossil, and as the lake where it lived dries up, the fossil turns to dust--but this isn't ordinary dust. This dust begins in Chad, West Africa, but winds carry it across the continent, over the Atlantic ocean, to nourish and replenish the Amazon rain forest and beyond. A Gift of Dust takes readers on a journey that shows just how interconnected our planet is, and how something so small can have such a huge impact. With lyrical, awe-inspiring verse based in fact, and stunning art from a Caldecott honoree, this is a story for our times"--

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author starts by relating to the young reader by asking them to observe the dust in a beam of sunlight, and then expanding that view to the world-spanning dust cloud blown from the Saharan desert. Very poetical language. The illustrator -Juana Martinez-Neal - also illustrated "Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka Con La Papa" this year, so she was very busy! The art of both "Alberto Salas" and this book are filled with dots and splotches overdelicate drawings and washes of earth colors, and this technique is particularly appropriate when talking about dots of dust particles. Excellent backmatter gives a more straightforward, less poetic explanation of the process. This might be a great way to introduce a program about art projects made with dust or sand.

[Holly Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The irony of Philip Pullman's last book in the Book of Dust triology being published about the same time as this book about dust does not fall on deaf ears. For the past 30 years, the concept of dust has implied a metaphysical force surrounding the transition from childhood to adulthood. With A Gift of Dust we learn that dust plumes feed the planet! How cool is that? A little thing that is often irritating and the cause of much work to eradicate (i.e., dusting) turns out to provide oxygen through the oceans, phospohorus to the rainforests, and so much more.

The illustrations beautiful compliment this narrative nonfiction poetry. Beautifully illustrated, beautifully told.

[Robin Berman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful science book about the Sahara dust which I knew about but didn't know much about.

I didn't know how important it is to the environment.

There's a more detailed explanation in the back 2 pages describing where exactly it comes from in Africa (the dustiest place in the world), what it's made from (diatomes mostly) and where it goes, and more. Also an image of the dust from space.

The illustrations are excellent and beautiful although some of the artwork/drawings are a bit chaotic.

Whenever it's on the news that the Saharan dust is coming to Florida, I always hope for an orange sunset.

[Read Ribbet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dust is an interesting choice for a picture book. In this informational text written with poetic language, Brockenbrough shares information about the Saharan Plumes. She with illustrator Juana Martinez-Neal show how these dust plumes actually connect the past and the present, the driest area to one of the wettest, and living things all over the world. The gold tones of the illustrations really capture the beauty of the dust plumes and contrasts them with other features of the world. This informational text would be a great addition to most class collections.

[Ann Haefele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning narrative nonfiction book about an unlikely topic, dust. After learning about the importance of dust on our planet, maybe I won’t find the job of dusting quite so mundane. Would have given it 5 stars, but the subtitle refers to the Sahara and nowhere in the text is Sahara mentioned, only “Africa “ is mentioned. Children might not realize that the Sahara is in Africa. Unless one reads the additional information at the end, a reader could be confused about the word Saharan being included in the title.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple introduction on how dust plumes from the Sahara desert help the Atlantic ocean and Amazon rain forest. I remember reading a previous book about this that was maybe a bit more detailed, River of Dust: The Life-Giving Link Between North Africa and the Amazon. I guess it was the backmatter of River of Dust that impressed me.

[Allison Turkish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating! I did not realize how much dust travels from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean. Nor did it occur to me how dust might bring useful micro-elements like phosphorus which helps things to grow.

This book is also GORGEOUS. The illustrations are truly beautiful.

The only complaint I have about the words is the choice of the word maracujá to describe a color. Apparently it's the Portuguese word for passion fruit. I think yellow-green or a different word would have made sense and not caused anyone to use an internet browser. ;)

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are incredible and the lesson taught are beautiful. Dust, swirling up and caught in wind currents from the African Sahara desert, are swept across the ocean toward the Amazon rainforest. I learned that the dust softens hurricanes and many storms as it is swept from the driest place to one of the wettest. Itvcarries nutrients needed in many areas of the world. A dust plume can weigh more than 24 million school buses, or 120 million female hippos, or almost 262 billion basketballs. That was my fun fact for the day!

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew that each speck of dust has such a remarkable story to tell? This kid-friendly description of Nature’s grand recycling system shows how each once-living particle becomes the dust that nourishes oceans and jungles and helps make the very air we breathe. Gorgeous illustrations depicts how the dust of the dead sustains everything alive today. End pages feature more fascinating facts about dust and a list of resources for further study of these special specks.

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, the illustrations are spectacular...to the point of distracting. I learned so much about dust, something I only pay attention to when it is on my furniture. It is going to take an exceptional child or a fantastic adult reader to hold the attention of most read aloud audiences. But you are going to love it.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has beautiful illustrations. But I wish the text of the book included more about how the dust "feeds" the planet (because thats the subtitle of the book). There is a lot of good info in the end pages that I feel should have been included in the text to explain this fact to a greater degree instead of as an afterthought in the endpages.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lushly illustrated, it's at its core the life cycle of the planet through dust. Animals die, decay, become small particles that move around the world through wind as dust so everything is intertwined.

The artwork to demonstrate the realities but also the magic are intricate and detailed in a way that the illustrator wanted to get it right.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsical and beautiful and full of information. This is a gorgeously illustrated ode to only one of the ways that our planet has developed to create intricate systems of mutual beneficence.

Dust doesn't seem to be a thrilling topic, and the cover is the least exciting illustration in the whole book, but once you crack that cover, wow.

[Abbigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very unique nature book with illustrations that will easily make themselves into the Caldecott conversation. We always knew Juana Martinez-Neal was incredible, but this book is on a whole other level.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers learn how dust that began as animal life in the lake scatters all over the world to nourish life and protect nature's balance. Lovely illustrations capture the action. Further informative text included at the end.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

about dust and where it comes from and what it does for the earth. Honestly I should give this an extra star for the illustrations. They are gorgeous and speckled to hint at dust. Not sure what kid wants to know about dust, but here's a book for them if they do.