New Living Space, New Discoveries

art by Sarah S. Brannen

          Visit Alyson Beecher on Wednesdays for Non-Fiction Picture Books at Kidlit Frenzy.  From her and others, you will discover and want to celebrate terrific nonfiction picture books!
     

                I don't remember who shared this book recently but I'm grateful I read the post, then ordered it immediately from my library. It is so interesting, a wonderful story of NEW earth, a new habitat to study. Thank you!

        Loree Griffin Burns begins the story with a young child reading with his mother. Immediately intriguing, the reader is not introduced to the volcanic eruption that spawned this new island near Iceland, but to the scientist/child who became an expert on it, especially about its insects. His name is Erling Ólafsson and when he was fourteen, a volcano nearby erupted and an island emerged. That island is eventually named Surtsey. Burns explains the background of the name and also shares that she will include Icelandic names and their pronunciations occasionally. Surtsey comes from the volcano's name, Surtur, the Icelandic God of Fire, thus "Surtur's Island". 

What I liked: 

• The explanation of the geology in this area and the under-ocean mountain range that holds volcanoes, thus this eruption that occurred after thousands of years of dormancy.
• The thread that held the story together through keeping Erling Ólafsson's part in the observations throughout the island's history at the fore. He landed the job of spending a first three-month summer at age 21, after finishing college with a degree in biology. His work, discoveries and mentoring of others heighten the interest as the story shows beginnings and the changes that occur throughout the years. And, it is a wonderful example for students of the painstaking observations done by scientists in the field.
• Explanations of all the observations and life as a scientist on the island, including photograph after photograph, showing more details.
• Explanations of the lava and its changes.
• Additional information in appendices, a glossary, added resources, a bibliography, and an index.

Ólafsson and another scientist out to collect species

       The Scientists In The Field series is quite amazing. I would hope that many make their way into classrooms.