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 at a laboratory in New York. But then she faced another barrier: 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.
NOMINEE
| 2022 Rocky Mountain Book Award
SHORTLIST
| 2021 Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable - Information Book Award
FINALIST
| 2020 Jane Addams Children's Book Award
One of Amazon.com’s Best of the Year Picks One of CCBC’s Best Books for Kids and Teens Fall 2020 One of Canadian Children's Book News’ Best Books of 2020 Listed on A 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:
“A splendid 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 [Tharp’s] 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
“Tharp’s interesting story is effectively simplified for a young audience.” --Bulletin of the Center for Children’s 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
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 Pink Is For Blobfish, The Girl Who Built an Ocean, Shark Lady, and many more outstanding nonfiction picture books. She lives with her husband in Ontario, Canada, where she is hard at work on her next book.
View titles by Jess Keating
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 at a laboratory in New York. But then she faced another barrier: 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.
Awards
NOMINEE
| 2022 Rocky Mountain Book Award
SHORTLIST
| 2021 Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable - Information Book Award
FINALIST
| 2020 Jane Addams Children's Book Award
Reviews
One of Amazon.com’s Best of the Year Picks One of CCBC’s Best Books for Kids and Teens Fall 2020 One of Canadian Children's Book News’ Best Books of 2020 Listed on A 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:
“A splendid 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 [Tharp’s] 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
“Tharp’s interesting story is effectively simplified for a young audience.” --Bulletin of the Center for Children’s 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
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 Pink Is For Blobfish, The Girl Who Built an Ocean, Shark Lady, and many more outstanding nonfiction picture books. She lives with her husband in Ontario, Canada, where she is hard at work on her next book.
View titles by Jess Keating
