Older than Dirt: A Wild but True History of Earth by Don Brown and Dr. Mike Perfit -ADVISABLE

Brown, Don and Perfit, Dr. Mike Older than Dirt: A Wild but True History of Earth, 107pgs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. $19.

This graphic novel tells the story of the earths formation from the big bang forward. The readers are guided by a beaver (?) and an earthworm. The worm acts a bit as the reader, coming up with questions, which the beaver answers. They pair also provide some comic relief. Readers learn about continental drift, tectonic plates, ice ages, and much more. Some smaller chapters provide biography information for important contributors to our understanding of the earths formation. The artwork is mostly sloppy and blurry.

I think students interested in earth science would like to read this. Every year I get a group who have just learned about the types of rocks in class and want to read more. The hosts are just darling but I wish the rest of the artwork was stunning instead of hurried and sloppy. I think the format will appeal to many students, and I may see checkouts just based on the graphic novel appeal – hopefully the reader will learn something. 

EL(K-3), EL –ADVISABLE.  Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author