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Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor
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.
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.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 5, 2016
16 people are currently reading
694 people want to read
About the author
Robert Burleigh
71 books46 followersOver the past 35 years, I have published poems, reviews, essays, many filmstrips and videos, and more than 40 children's picture books.
Born and raised in Chicago, I graduated from DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana) and later received an MA in humanities from the University of Chicago. I've published books for children since the early 1990s. My books - including numerous unpublished ones! - run a broad gamut, from stories geared for pre-schoolers to survival stories and biographies aimed at seven to eleven-year-olds. My work is wide-ranging because, basically, I'm a generalist by experience - and inclination!
In addition to writing, I paint regularly under the art name Burleigh Kronquist and have shown work in one-person and group shows in Chicago, New York, and elsewhere around the country.
-from robertburleigh.com
Born and raised in Chicago, I graduated from DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana) and later received an MA in humanities from the University of Chicago. I've published books for children since the early 1990s. My books - including numerous unpublished ones! - run a broad gamut, from stories geared for pre-schoolers to survival stories and biographies aimed at seven to eleven-year-olds. My work is wide-ranging because, basically, I'm a generalist by experience - and inclination!
In addition to writing, I paint regularly under the art name Burleigh Kronquist and have shown work in one-person and group shows in Chicago, New York, and elsewhere around the country.
-from robertburleigh.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
March 31, 2016
I read Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea by Robert Burleigh, illustrations by Raul Colon for a Mock Caldecott group I am in here on Goodreads. Although I was supposed to rate the illustrations, I feel the book is worthy of award consideration for the story as well. This book features Marie Tharp a pioneer in the field of ocean topography at a time when women were few and far between in most scientific jobs. She charted the depth of the Atlantic Ocean and revolutionized plate tectonics- the idea that the earth moves by an inch or two a year. Even during the 1950s, most male scientists believed rather than denounced this research.
The illustrations by Raul Colon are exquisite as well. He uses textured brush strokes to make the ocean mountain ranges on the maps stand out to the viewer. His paintings of Tharp as a girl gazing out to the world are also a thing of beauty.
I recommend this book to parents or teachers of girls looking for strong female role models. I would also vote for this book for Caldecott if I actually had a vote and recommended it as worthy for consideration in the group I am in.
The illustrations by Raul Colon are exquisite as well. He uses textured brush strokes to make the ocean mountain ranges on the maps stand out to the viewer. His paintings of Tharp as a girl gazing out to the world are also a thing of beauty.
I recommend this book to parents or teachers of girls looking for strong female role models. I would also vote for this book for Caldecott if I actually had a vote and recommended it as worthy for consideration in the group I am in.
August 23, 2021
I liked this one best of the two picture books I have read about the geologist Marie Tharp. Robert Burleigh went into more detail about how she actually did the work and what the mapping of the ocean floor meant for cartography and for the theory of plate tectonics.
April 9, 2016
We have a lot of books stacked here for Women's history month, which looks like is being extended in this house. This book has a lovely title on a topic I knew very little about. Well, cartography is a long interest of mine--Maps and Dreams, Arctic Dreams, My Map Book, A Mapmaker’s Dream: The Meditations of Fra Mauro, Cartographer to the Court of Venice--oceanography I know less about.
Tharp, only recently recognized for her contributions to science, was a mapmaker's daughter, and she fought (as in all women's historical illustrated picture books--hmm, there seems to be a pattern forming here. . .) against the male establishment to even get on a boat to become a mapmaker herself. But she mapped the ocean floor!
The book is beautifully illustrated by Raúl Colón, but the story is just solid, not remarkably told.
Tharp, only recently recognized for her contributions to science, was a mapmaker's daughter, and she fought (as in all women's historical illustrated picture books--hmm, there seems to be a pattern forming here. . .) against the male establishment to even get on a boat to become a mapmaker herself. But she mapped the ocean floor!
The book is beautifully illustrated by Raúl Colón, but the story is just solid, not remarkably told.
June 1, 2019
The daughter of a traveling surveyor, Marie Tharp grew up with a keen interest in maps and cartography, eventually going on to earn degrees in music, English, mathematics and geology. Despite the resistance to women participating fully in the sciences in the 1940s, she went on to get a job at the Lamont Geological Laboratory at Columbia University. Although not permitted to join oceanographic voyages - it was considered bad luck to have women on board, even at that late date! - she was the cartographer who used the data collected on such voyages to map the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Her work helped to open up a hidden part of the earth, and, through the discovery of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, helped prove the theory of plate tectonics.
An engaging picture-book biography from author Robert Burleigh and illustrator Raúl Colón, whose previous collaboration in the same vein was Look Up!: The Story of the First Woman Astronomer , Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea follows the story of a determined woman - Marie Tharp - who never let adversity and prejudice deter her, and whose ultimate triumph came in her contribution to the human understanding of how our planet works. I thought it was telling that, rather than protest at the unfair state of affairs that confronted her, when first entering her chosen field, Tharp instead set out to show others what she could do, demonstrating by example that stereotypes should be abandoned. I imagine that this was sometimes a very discouraging course of action for her, but her perseverance paid off. Indeed, there is now a scholarship named in her honor for women entering science at her erstwhile laboratory. As expected, the artwork here is every bit as appealing as the tale, with lovely blue, green and brown tones capturing and contrasting the watery and earth-bound scenes nicely. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-books featuring the scientific process, the oceanographic sciences, and/or women scientists.
An engaging picture-book biography from author Robert Burleigh and illustrator Raúl Colón, whose previous collaboration in the same vein was Look Up!: The Story of the First Woman Astronomer , Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea follows the story of a determined woman - Marie Tharp - who never let adversity and prejudice deter her, and whose ultimate triumph came in her contribution to the human understanding of how our planet works. I thought it was telling that, rather than protest at the unfair state of affairs that confronted her, when first entering her chosen field, Tharp instead set out to show others what she could do, demonstrating by example that stereotypes should be abandoned. I imagine that this was sometimes a very discouraging course of action for her, but her perseverance paid off. Indeed, there is now a scholarship named in her honor for women entering science at her erstwhile laboratory. As expected, the artwork here is every bit as appealing as the tale, with lovely blue, green and brown tones capturing and contrasting the watery and earth-bound scenes nicely. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-books featuring the scientific process, the oceanographic sciences, and/or women scientists.
May 12, 2021
The story was just okay for me. I didn't really like the first person narration and we really needed a better sense of the timeline for the events. We earn from the back matter that the project for mapping the bottom of the seas actually took place between 1957 and 1977 which is a huge span! I didn't feel the illustrations or the text sufficiently demonstrated this -- it seemed like perhaps just a few years in the text. Certainly at least fashion would have changed!? I also felt that the story should have shown changing attitudes toward women in science over this long period of time. It's also then rather unclear when, exactly, the scientists spoken of in the story believed the earth's surface never moved... was this back in the late 50s or...? (Her maps helped prove otherwise.) I'm afraid children will come away with an incomplete (potentially inaccurate) picture of how all this came together if the further biographical information in the back isn't shared with them. I do appreciate that her partner on the project, Bruce Heezen, is actually mentioned in the story though his role is perhaps downplayed to focus on Tharp. I'd give three stars for the story, but I do think the illustrations do a good job of conveying the maps and the back matter is very good including the biographical information on Tharp, glossary, bibliography, "interesting internet links to explore" and "Things to Wonder About and Do" so I'll give this four stars for the book as a whole while strongly urging any educators to augment what is lacking in the story proper.
May 13, 2023
This is a great picture book for cartographers, oceanographers, and geologists.
December 9, 2016
So this is a very nice biography, and Colon's illustrations are marvelous as usual--texture, color, depth, control of static and dynamic lines. It's all we have come to expect. And Burleigh's writing is good, focusing on just the one slice of what he wanted me to think about. That's not the best part...
The moment that blew me away was halfway through the book, where Burleigh wrote,
"[Y]et a portrait of the ocean floor was coming into view.
But there was even more.
Listen."
And then I turned the page and there was an expansive wordless spread of a seascape with the mountains and trenches showing through transparent water with a tiny steamship making its way across the surface.
What a brilliant moment of counterpoint, where the words say 'listen', but the pictures say 'look' and the narrative stops for a beat while the sea changes from a line drawing to a deep and living image on the next page. This was seamlessly postmodern, without the usual wink & nod, drawing clear attention to play with frame and to the relationship between narrator and narratee.
Did Burleigh storyboard this, or was this a contribution of Colon's? It seems more like Burleigh wrote the words to move on to his discussion of plate tectonics. But even so, his breakaway from the written page by writing "Listen" was ingenious word choice. I was almost expecting there to be rushing sound coming off the page when I turned it. The whole book wasn't like this, but it was so amazing to find a caesura like that in a picturebook that I went back and changed my 4-stars to 5. I'll have to get a copy of this book for sure.
The moment that blew me away was halfway through the book, where Burleigh wrote,
"[Y]et a portrait of the ocean floor was coming into view.
But there was even more.
Listen."
And then I turned the page and there was an expansive wordless spread of a seascape with the mountains and trenches showing through transparent water with a tiny steamship making its way across the surface.
What a brilliant moment of counterpoint, where the words say 'listen', but the pictures say 'look' and the narrative stops for a beat while the sea changes from a line drawing to a deep and living image on the next page. This was seamlessly postmodern, without the usual wink & nod, drawing clear attention to play with frame and to the relationship between narrator and narratee.
Did Burleigh storyboard this, or was this a contribution of Colon's? It seems more like Burleigh wrote the words to move on to his discussion of plate tectonics. But even so, his breakaway from the written page by writing "Listen" was ingenious word choice. I was almost expecting there to be rushing sound coming off the page when I turned it. The whole book wasn't like this, but it was so amazing to find a caesura like that in a picturebook that I went back and changed my 4-stars to 5. I'll have to get a copy of this book for sure.
February 2, 2016
All the pieces come together here: informative text, fascinating science subject really well explained, stunningly gorgeous illustrations that also extend and inform the text. This is truly an outstanding book! Not only are the science elements well handled, the time and issues this remarkable woman had to deal with are there along with an excellent sense of what sort of person Marie Tharp was. Plus I think this really portrays what it is like to BE a scientist.
December 16, 2016
Interesting biography of a pioneering woman, like how it's written as if first person, lovely illustrations.
March 5, 2017
How fascinating! I've never heard of Marie Tharp before but this tells a bit about her childhood, moving around the U.S. as her father created maps of the soil for farmers. Then after college, she became a scientist. Many people doubted women could make good scientists but Tharp proved herself as she used the soundings that male scientists took in the Atlantic Ocean to create a map of the ocean floor. Her map not only showed what the ocean floor was like but helped prove the theory of continental drift or plate tectonics. Her story is an interesting one and the illustrations add depth to the text. I appreciate that it also includes a glossary, author's note, bibliography and some ideas of activities children can do to extend this book.
February 27, 2023
A homeschool read for our unit about the deep sea. I hadn’t known about Marie Tharp, and reading about her perseverance in a time when women found it hard to break into science was inspiring. The illustrations were lovely, too The 2nd grader had the best attention span for it, and was very interested in finding the underwater mountain ranges on the map. My daughter was also very excited to learn that this book was about a “Girl scientist”.
October 19, 2023
This is a wonderful biography of a woman who combined science and art to make a name for herself. Her discoveries helped prove they were mountains under the water, and that continental drift was a real thing. This book is lovingly done and well illustrated. For a children’s picture book it’s done in the first person which is highly unusual but very effective. This is a great biography for any library collection.
August 1, 2017
Wonderful biography about scientist Maria Tharp and how she worked to map the ocean floor. A great story of perseverance and devotion. I love the women in science picture books that have come out in recent years-a terrific source of inspiration to young girls (and boys) who are drawn to similar passions.
August 6, 2019
Interesting! I wish it went into more depth, but it’s a great starting point for some learning rabbit trails.
April 7, 2017
Story about mapping the ocean floor. Raúl Colón's illustrations are GORGEOUS.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2017/comm...
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2017/comm...
June 11, 2016
Author Robert Burleigh and illustrator Raúl Colón, the team that brought us the story of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, the pioneering astronomer, now tell the story of another remarkable woman, Marie Tharp (1920-2006), who helped to map the ocean floor.
The book is written in the first person, as if Marie Tharp herself were telling the story. Marie explains that her father’s job was to travel all over the U.S. making soil classification maps to aid farmers. This led to her own lifelong love of maps.
In college, she received a master’s degree in geology (as well as degrees in English, music, and mathematics). She also began to wonder what was at the bottom of the sea.
She had a rough path to overcome because of the prejudices against women scientists, but she was determined, and was eventually given the assignment (along with a male colleague, Bruce Heezen) of mapping the bottom of the ocean. This large project took twenty years.
Although not mentioned in the book, for the first eighteen years of her collaboration with Heezen, Marie was not allowed to work on board a ship because of her gender, and so she drew maps from the data provided by Heezen and data she collected from other research ships. Through her achievements, she helped convince the geoscientific community of plate-tectonic theory.
Eventually, Marie Tharp received recognition and honors for her accomplishments.
At the back of the book, the author includes a brief biography of Tharp with references to other books and articles about her, a glossary, a list of “interesting Internet Links to Explore” about oceanography, and some suggested activities.
The prose is rather pedestrian, but the illustrations by Raúl Colón, done in his trademark style of watercolor washes, colored pencils and lithograph pencils, are lovely, and convey the enormity of the task undertaken by Tharp.
Evaluation: Once again Burleigh introduces to children a woman who made important discoveries through a combination of dreams, talent, and persistence. The beautiful illustrations add immeasurably to the story, and will aid the understanding of the target audience, ages 4-8. Older children will no doubt get even more out of this book.
Rating: 3.5/5
The book is written in the first person, as if Marie Tharp herself were telling the story. Marie explains that her father’s job was to travel all over the U.S. making soil classification maps to aid farmers. This led to her own lifelong love of maps.
In college, she received a master’s degree in geology (as well as degrees in English, music, and mathematics). She also began to wonder what was at the bottom of the sea.
She had a rough path to overcome because of the prejudices against women scientists, but she was determined, and was eventually given the assignment (along with a male colleague, Bruce Heezen) of mapping the bottom of the ocean. This large project took twenty years.
Although not mentioned in the book, for the first eighteen years of her collaboration with Heezen, Marie was not allowed to work on board a ship because of her gender, and so she drew maps from the data provided by Heezen and data she collected from other research ships. Through her achievements, she helped convince the geoscientific community of plate-tectonic theory.
Eventually, Marie Tharp received recognition and honors for her accomplishments.
At the back of the book, the author includes a brief biography of Tharp with references to other books and articles about her, a glossary, a list of “interesting Internet Links to Explore” about oceanography, and some suggested activities.
The prose is rather pedestrian, but the illustrations by Raúl Colón, done in his trademark style of watercolor washes, colored pencils and lithograph pencils, are lovely, and convey the enormity of the task undertaken by Tharp.
Evaluation: Once again Burleigh introduces to children a woman who made important discoveries through a combination of dreams, talent, and persistence. The beautiful illustrations add immeasurably to the story, and will aid the understanding of the target audience, ages 4-8. Older children will no doubt get even more out of this book.
Rating: 3.5/5
Read
February 25, 2016Why do we choose to read certain books over other titles? Hopefully it is a matter of choice usually based upon factors which fluctuate from book to book. Each Wednesday I am excited to participate in the 2016 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge hosted by educator Alyson Beecher on her blog, Kid Lit Frenzy. Why am I excited? This weekly invitation to participate has given me the opportunity to grow in learning about people, places, things, our natural world and global issues in the past, present and future. My respect for each of these has increased in ways I never imagined.
This week's title was selected for three reasons. National Women's History Month is celebrated annually during the month of March. The subject of this biography is a woman. She was born in my home state of Michigan in the same year as my mother was. Their cities of birth are only seventy-six miles apart. My curiosity was piqued. Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, January 5, 2016) written by Robert Burleigh with illustrations by Raul Colon introduces you to a remarkable woman who met the challenges of her time with determination and considerable skill.
My full recommendation: http://librariansquest.blogspot.com/2...
This week's title was selected for three reasons. National Women's History Month is celebrated annually during the month of March. The subject of this biography is a woman. She was born in my home state of Michigan in the same year as my mother was. Their cities of birth are only seventy-six miles apart. My curiosity was piqued. Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor (A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, January 5, 2016) written by Robert Burleigh with illustrations by Raul Colon introduces you to a remarkable woman who met the challenges of her time with determination and considerable skill.
My full recommendation: http://librariansquest.blogspot.com/2...
October 6, 2016
Do not judge a book by it's cover. Honestly, I have a stack of 30 books and I am picking the ones to read first that appeal to me on a base level. This book, visually did not appeal to me and I thought ''boring!! "
WELL!
I LOVE MARIE THARP and her STORY IN THIS BOOK!! I like (not love) the illustrations and I can't give it super high marks because I am not a fan of the illustrations) I love the info and details. Read Marie Tharp Scientist at the end! YES! I LOVE MAPS!!!
WELL!
I LOVE MARIE THARP and her STORY IN THIS BOOK!! I like (not love) the illustrations and I can't give it super high marks because I am not a fan of the illustrations) I love the info and details. Read Marie Tharp Scientist at the end! YES! I LOVE MAPS!!!
February 5, 2018
Beautifully illustrated. I don't like first person narrative for biographies, guessing at thoughts and feelings is an iffy business. Still manages to be mostly factual, and important in terms of being one of the few titles on one of the forgotten women of science, as well as an introduction to continental drift for kids
March 24, 2017
This book is exceptional in many ways.
It tells the story of one of the twentieth century's great scientists, Marie Tharp. More particularly, it gives us a glimpse of her most significant scientific contribution, the mapping of the world's oceans.
One might think that I'm obviously not going to give the book a bad review because Marie Tharp shares my surname, but (1) Marie Tharp didn't actually write the book, and (2) I'd be more likely to thrash a mediocre book involving my surname than play nice.
The content was fascinating, especially because I'd never heard of Marie Tharp until now. Burleigh does a good job of laying out the story, providing some history of Tharp's childhood and then a chronology of her education and research, culminating in her discovery of a way to map the ocean floors. I especially like the way that Burleigh opened the story writing as Tharp in present tense and then continued in her voice to tell the story in past tense for the remainder. Raúl Colón's illustrations have a mid-twentieth-century feel to them that enhances the story and pulls readers in.
Now for the not so great. I found the writing a bit troubling at times. The word choices and syntax seem appropriate for the stated age range (4–8), but some style choices made the prose stilted and unnecessarily wordy, as well as conveying secondary meanings that may not have been intended. It's in such places that Burleigh's decision to write the story from Tharp's point of view starts to unravel and risk contradicting one of the story's main themes.
For instance, in one scene Tharp seems offended that a potential employer believes she is applying for a file clerk job and only capable of performing such a job. But is that the message—that being a file clerk is a crappy job? Or should it be (in the spirit of nonbinary multioccupationalism) that she was denied equal opportunity for the job she really wanted because of sexist attitudes? I'm not suggesting how it would be rewritten, but I believe the way it was done is sloppy.
Early on, Tharp graduates from college and tells us that she is now a young scientist. Then later, after she begins to make her great discovery, she notes, "I am scientist at last." No, you already were based on the earlier statement. Unless you've decided that the "bigness" of a discovery determines the "scientific-ness" of it (it doesn't—statistical validity after rigorous attempts to prove one's own hypotheses wrong determine scientific worth).
And I'm not sure that calling her colleague her friend, which in some ways minimizes the importance of her position, is a great approach unless countered by a notation that white men often were credited with achievements made by women and people of color during this time in our nation's history. Her "colleague" could just as easily have been her beard (in a nonsexual way, of course—I know the analogy is reversed and out of context, but it seemed fitting). There's nothing wrong with any of this from a purely technical standpoint, but when reading the book I occasionally had "hmmm . . ." moments that set off my continuity radar.
The extra biographical information, glossary, and activities at the end of the book were especially strong points. A child could spend hours researching and learning more about Marie Tharp, oceans, cartography, and science generally. And although I generally believe that writers don't need to go out of their way to create female characters for female readers (considering that most authors are females and most readers are females, that sort of happens naturally, whereas boys are the ones who never become readers at all), this is a case where it's absolutely welcome—in science.
All in all, a strong if somewhat spotty book with excellent rereadability. Burleigh is at his best when speaking directly to the reader about interesting facts and activities—not so much when it comes to some of the subtleties of secondary and tertiary layering.
It tells the story of one of the twentieth century's great scientists, Marie Tharp. More particularly, it gives us a glimpse of her most significant scientific contribution, the mapping of the world's oceans.
One might think that I'm obviously not going to give the book a bad review because Marie Tharp shares my surname, but (1) Marie Tharp didn't actually write the book, and (2) I'd be more likely to thrash a mediocre book involving my surname than play nice.
The content was fascinating, especially because I'd never heard of Marie Tharp until now. Burleigh does a good job of laying out the story, providing some history of Tharp's childhood and then a chronology of her education and research, culminating in her discovery of a way to map the ocean floors. I especially like the way that Burleigh opened the story writing as Tharp in present tense and then continued in her voice to tell the story in past tense for the remainder. Raúl Colón's illustrations have a mid-twentieth-century feel to them that enhances the story and pulls readers in.
Now for the not so great. I found the writing a bit troubling at times. The word choices and syntax seem appropriate for the stated age range (4–8), but some style choices made the prose stilted and unnecessarily wordy, as well as conveying secondary meanings that may not have been intended. It's in such places that Burleigh's decision to write the story from Tharp's point of view starts to unravel and risk contradicting one of the story's main themes.
For instance, in one scene Tharp seems offended that a potential employer believes she is applying for a file clerk job and only capable of performing such a job. But is that the message—that being a file clerk is a crappy job? Or should it be (in the spirit of nonbinary multioccupationalism) that she was denied equal opportunity for the job she really wanted because of sexist attitudes? I'm not suggesting how it would be rewritten, but I believe the way it was done is sloppy.
Early on, Tharp graduates from college and tells us that she is now a young scientist. Then later, after she begins to make her great discovery, she notes, "I am scientist at last." No, you already were based on the earlier statement. Unless you've decided that the "bigness" of a discovery determines the "scientific-ness" of it (it doesn't—statistical validity after rigorous attempts to prove one's own hypotheses wrong determine scientific worth).
And I'm not sure that calling her colleague her friend, which in some ways minimizes the importance of her position, is a great approach unless countered by a notation that white men often were credited with achievements made by women and people of color during this time in our nation's history. Her "colleague" could just as easily have been her beard (in a nonsexual way, of course—I know the analogy is reversed and out of context, but it seemed fitting). There's nothing wrong with any of this from a purely technical standpoint, but when reading the book I occasionally had "hmmm . . ." moments that set off my continuity radar.
The extra biographical information, glossary, and activities at the end of the book were especially strong points. A child could spend hours researching and learning more about Marie Tharp, oceans, cartography, and science generally. And although I generally believe that writers don't need to go out of their way to create female characters for female readers (considering that most authors are females and most readers are females, that sort of happens naturally, whereas boys are the ones who never become readers at all), this is a case where it's absolutely welcome—in science.
All in all, a strong if somewhat spotty book with excellent rereadability. Burleigh is at his best when speaking directly to the reader about interesting facts and activities—not so much when it comes to some of the subtleties of secondary and tertiary layering.
March 25, 2019
Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor is a children's picture book written by Robert Burleigh and illustrated by Raúl Colón. It chronicles the story on how Marie Tharp became the first to map the ocean floor.
March, at least in my part of the world is Women's History Month, which I plan to read one children's book, particularly a biography, which pertains to the subject everyday this month. Therefore, I thought that this book would be apropos for today.
Marie Tharp was an American geologist and oceanographic cartographer who, in partnership with Bruce Heezen, created the first scientific map of the Atlantic Ocean floor. Tharp's work revealed the detailed topography and multi-dimensional geographical landscape of the ocean bottom. Her work also revealed the presence of a continuous rift valley along the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, causing a paradigm shift in earth science that led to acceptance of the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift.
Burleigh's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Written in first person perspective, it introduces the love Marie Tharp has for maps and the wonderment they have within them. It follows her career as a geologist as she maps out the Atlantic Ocean. Colón's illustrations are drawn exceptionally well and depicted the narrative rather well.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. As a child, Marie Tharp loved maps; she thinks there are wonderment and power within them. As she grew up, her wonderment of maps never dwindled, while most of the Earth was mapped, there was one place that wasn't – the ocean floor. So, she did just that and heads out to map the Atlantic Ocean, her discovery would change in earth science.
All in all, Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor is a wonderful biography of a little who loved maps who grew up to map the ocean floor and changed the face of Earth Science.
March, at least in my part of the world is Women's History Month, which I plan to read one children's book, particularly a biography, which pertains to the subject everyday this month. Therefore, I thought that this book would be apropos for today.
Marie Tharp was an American geologist and oceanographic cartographer who, in partnership with Bruce Heezen, created the first scientific map of the Atlantic Ocean floor. Tharp's work revealed the detailed topography and multi-dimensional geographical landscape of the ocean bottom. Her work also revealed the presence of a continuous rift valley along the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, causing a paradigm shift in earth science that led to acceptance of the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift.
Burleigh's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Written in first person perspective, it introduces the love Marie Tharp has for maps and the wonderment they have within them. It follows her career as a geologist as she maps out the Atlantic Ocean. Colón's illustrations are drawn exceptionally well and depicted the narrative rather well.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. As a child, Marie Tharp loved maps; she thinks there are wonderment and power within them. As she grew up, her wonderment of maps never dwindled, while most of the Earth was mapped, there was one place that wasn't – the ocean floor. So, she did just that and heads out to map the Atlantic Ocean, her discovery would change in earth science.
All in all, Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor is a wonderful biography of a little who loved maps who grew up to map the ocean floor and changed the face of Earth Science.
December 17, 2018
1. Awards the book has received (if any)
CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book
Great Lakes Great Books Master List (MI)
CBC/NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book
Amelia Bloomer List
Illinois Reads Selection title
Eureka Nonfiction Honor Book
Wisconsin State Reading Association's Reading List
New York Public Library Best Books for Kids
CBC-NSTA Best STEM Book
AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books Finalist
Cook Prize Finalist (Bank Street College of Education)
TX Topaz Nonfiction Reading List
(Source: https://www.simonandschuster.com/book...)
2. Appropriate grade level(s)
Pre-K to 3rd grade
3. Original summary (be succinct -- no more than 3 sentences)
This wonderfully illustrated picture book takes the reader through the life of female scientist, Marie Tharp, who was the first scientist to ever successfully map the oceans floor. Readers will learn about her difficulties finding work as a scientist due to her gender, along with her innovative discoveries.
4. Original review (be succinct -- no more than 3 sentences)
Aside from the beauty of this book, it is so awe inspiring! It is extremely important for teachers to expose their students to female role models, especially in the sciences, and this book is sure to motive and inspire females through Marie's determination and indisputable intelligence.
5. 1-2 possible in-class uses (these can be as specific or general as you’d like — try to think through what we’ve talked about so far, what you’ve observed in your FW classrooms, and anything else you come up with)
This can be used for an activity in which students find and write about a historical woman, person of color, minority, etc. who made an impact on the world. It can also be used in a unit on the ocean.
CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book
Great Lakes Great Books Master List (MI)
CBC/NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book
Amelia Bloomer List
Illinois Reads Selection title
Eureka Nonfiction Honor Book
Wisconsin State Reading Association's Reading List
New York Public Library Best Books for Kids
CBC-NSTA Best STEM Book
AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books Finalist
Cook Prize Finalist (Bank Street College of Education)
TX Topaz Nonfiction Reading List
(Source: https://www.simonandschuster.com/book...)
2. Appropriate grade level(s)
Pre-K to 3rd grade
3. Original summary (be succinct -- no more than 3 sentences)
This wonderfully illustrated picture book takes the reader through the life of female scientist, Marie Tharp, who was the first scientist to ever successfully map the oceans floor. Readers will learn about her difficulties finding work as a scientist due to her gender, along with her innovative discoveries.
4. Original review (be succinct -- no more than 3 sentences)
Aside from the beauty of this book, it is so awe inspiring! It is extremely important for teachers to expose their students to female role models, especially in the sciences, and this book is sure to motive and inspire females through Marie's determination and indisputable intelligence.
5. 1-2 possible in-class uses (these can be as specific or general as you’d like — try to think through what we’ve talked about so far, what you’ve observed in your FW classrooms, and anything else you come up with)
This can be used for an activity in which students find and write about a historical woman, person of color, minority, etc. who made an impact on the world. It can also be used in a unit on the ocean.
January 1, 2020
Working with preschoolers and their families, I am frequently encouraging participation in the 1000 books before kindergarten literacy program. After years of encouraging others to participate, I decided to participate as well, despite not having a child under five years of age, and lead by example. In choosing to participate, I decided to use the challenge as a way to become more familiar with the contemporary literary cannon for families with young children, and have begun to immerse myself in both fiction and nonfiction works available for young children today.
This was another great book about an ambitious woman whose determination and perseverance resulted in changes to how the world viewed the ocean floors. Marie Tharp’s love of maps resulted in her pursuit of science as a profession with the hopes that her passion and skills “might lead to a new idea in the world of science”. She stated that she was “looking for something that really excited” her, and through her work at Columbia University she came up with the idea of mapping out the topography of the seafloor. Through her work with a colleague, she eventually did that, and went on to use those maps to support a number of other science ideas that were at the time highly controversial. Ultimately, another great children’s book that encourages women to pursue their dreams and to not let any obstacle stand in their way!
This was another great book about an ambitious woman whose determination and perseverance resulted in changes to how the world viewed the ocean floors. Marie Tharp’s love of maps resulted in her pursuit of science as a profession with the hopes that her passion and skills “might lead to a new idea in the world of science”. She stated that she was “looking for something that really excited” her, and through her work at Columbia University she came up with the idea of mapping out the topography of the seafloor. Through her work with a colleague, she eventually did that, and went on to use those maps to support a number of other science ideas that were at the time highly controversial. Ultimately, another great children’s book that encourages women to pursue their dreams and to not let any obstacle stand in their way!
October 22, 2016
A beautifully illustrated biography of Marie Tharp who was the first to map the ocean floor and who helped to establish the theory of plate tectonics. Three things keep this from a five star rating: The story is told in first person and two clunky interjections set my teeth on edge with their false cheer- "I had attended seventeen schools by the time I graduated high school. Try topping that!" and text's final sentences- "And yes, my map helped prove the earth's surface is moving, too. But don't worry. You won't lose your balance. We're only moving about an inch or two each year!" Elsewhere the familiar tone doesn't detract, but those two examples made me feel the authors didn't believe their readers could be interested in the science or the history and so must be goaded, teased and treated as if they were idiots. The third stumble from my perspective is a parenthetical statement "(Scientists are like that. They question everything. Nothing is for sure-until it's really for sure.)" Aargh. I wish they had left off the third sentence: first of all it is meaningless without explanatory criteria- how can you possible tell when 'it's really for sure.'? Second, and most importantly: SCIENCE IS NEVER CERTAIN! That is a central tenant of science- nothing is EVER proven 'for sure'.
January 7, 2018
Marie Tharp grows up with a father who makes maps. He made maps to help farmers know about their land for the USDA. Marie was intriqued, but she wanted to be a scientist. This she did. She got a job in a Columbia University's ocean studies lab. She was posed to do what she wanted to do: map the ocean's floor. At that time in 1948, no one knew what the ocean's floor looked like. If there were mountains, no one knew it. If there were canyons, no one knew it. They didn't even know how deep it was. I find this amazing, because there were submarines running around down there in the unknown. How did they not hit mountains? Anyway, she and a fellow scientist worked together to make the map of the floor of the Atlantic Ocean using sonar. She drew the maps from the data collected by ships. It was not until 1977 that the floor of the Atlantic Ocean was completely mapped. Marie was the first person to map any ocean floor. She had to confront many biases due to the fact that she was a woman, including the rejection of tectonic plate theory which her mapping was able to support. This was just considered "girl talk." Thank you, Marie for doing this important work.
January 13, 2017
Marie Tharp is yet another woman whose role in major scientific discoveries I never learned about in school. A great subject, and Robert Burleigh hits just the right depth in the explaining underwater geology, cartograpy and plate tectonics. Raul Colon's illustrations are lovely as usual. My only criticism: the use of first person narrative here didn't work for me. Lines such as "Was I proud of myself? You bet." were too intermittent between regular prose to create a distinctive voice. I didn't truly feel like Marie was telling her story. But that's not a big enough flaw to stop me from recommending this one to young readers and science fans.
January 11, 2021
Marie Tharp struggled against sexism to become one of the foremost scientists of the 20th Century. Her work on mapping the ocean floor helped prove the plate tectonics theory. Scientists evaluating new evidence and changing their minds is a theme in the book.
Tags: Tharp, Marie -- Cartographers -- United States -- Biography -- Geomorphologists -- Women cartographers -- Submarine topography -- Oceanography -- Marine sciences -- Ocean -- Women scientists -- Biographies -- Reality is Known Through Reason -- Meaning Comes from Making a Difference -- Be Accepting and Be Accepted.
Tags: Tharp, Marie -- Cartographers -- United States -- Biography -- Geomorphologists -- Women cartographers -- Submarine topography -- Oceanography -- Marine sciences -- Ocean -- Women scientists -- Biographies -- Reality is Known Through Reason -- Meaning Comes from Making a Difference -- Be Accepting and Be Accepted.
March 8, 2022
4.5/5
This gorgeously illustrated book introduces readers to the pioneering female scientist who was the first to map the ocean floor. This book is a great introduction to Marie Tharp is a lesser-known scientist who gave us an important understanding of how the Earth works. I love how this book dives head on in to the challenges of being woman in science in the 40s and 50s and the sexism and discrimination women faced. There is an excellent description of sonar technology and how the technology was used to discover under water mountains and the Continental Rift. This book would be excellent for students studying the science of map making, geography, and oceanography.
This gorgeously illustrated book introduces readers to the pioneering female scientist who was the first to map the ocean floor. This book is a great introduction to Marie Tharp is a lesser-known scientist who gave us an important understanding of how the Earth works. I love how this book dives head on in to the challenges of being woman in science in the 40s and 50s and the sexism and discrimination women faced. There is an excellent description of sonar technology and how the technology was used to discover under water mountains and the Continental Rift. This book would be excellent for students studying the science of map making, geography, and oceanography.
December 30, 2024
I love illustrated biographies, so I was SO excited when I came across this book while visiting a little free library!
I had never heard of a Marie Tharp- and I really enjoyed learning about her journey to mapping the sea floor!!! What an amazing part of scientific history- I feel like this book gave us some great information about mapping and the science of the ocean floor & tectonic plates highlighted the struggles of women in science at this time. I really appreciated how this story reminds readers of how early discoveries are often met with scepticism- but keep researching, keep pursuing, and always work hard for what you believe!
I had never heard of a Marie Tharp- and I really enjoyed learning about her journey to mapping the sea floor!!! What an amazing part of scientific history- I feel like this book gave us some great information about mapping and the science of the ocean floor & tectonic plates highlighted the struggles of women in science at this time. I really appreciated how this story reminds readers of how early discoveries are often met with scepticism- but keep researching, keep pursuing, and always work hard for what you believe!
April 7, 2019
Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor, by Robert Burleigh is a about a young girl who decided to map the ocean floor, similar to his father’s job who was a map maker. This nonfictional book talked about Marie Tharp’s hardships in the science field since she was a woman. She was discriminated against for being a woman but she persisted through it and worker harder and harder each day. This book will teach young women that they can be anything, even if others think they can’t and this book will inspire all to follow their dreams.
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