The Island That Moved

by Meredith Hooper, Christopher Coady

Take one small island. Beautiful. Remote. Explorable. Then follow it on a journey through millions of years. Where did the island come from? Where is it heading? And what does it tell us about Earth's history? Award-winning science writer Meredith Hooper joins illustrator Lucia deLeiris as they use the story of a single island to introduce the fascinating science of plate tectonics&150the shifting plates that form Earth's surface. It's the story of how the forces that formed the island, of the plants and animals that inhabited the island through time, and of how the island travelled through the ages to its current position by the Antarctic peninsula. With a compelling text and striking illustrations, The Island that Moved provides an intriguing introduction to an amazing science.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Meredith Hooper uses the storybook form in Who Built the Pyramid? to make the latest research accessible for a young audience. Meredith Hooper is an historian by training and the author of many books, ranging in subject from Antarctica to aviation, from the history of water to the history of inventions.
Hooper, born in 1939, graduated in history from the University of Adelaide, then studied imperial history at Oxford.

Reviews

[Katie Little]

This is a great book.

[Dominic Beckett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an interesting combination of storybook and textbook. The narrative is basically the geological changes for an inland near the antarctic over many millions of years (if you remember the scene from the film Fantasia with the dinosaurs, it's something of a similar premise.) I like how the rather difficult and sometimes rather static feeling subject of the Earth's history is brought to life by the pictures. I feel this book would be a great way to introduce a year 5 or 6 class to geological processes.

[Kaley Matous · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy the language and wordiness of the book. I think that many early readers would struggle with the vocabulary. While it is good to challenge younger readers to try and read above their level, I believe that this book could be very frustrating.