This is a beautifully illustrated biography of Marie Tharps story. Marie is a scientist who’s story is full of discovery and discrimination. This was a great book. A balance of beautiful illustrations and information.

Picture book biography. Marie Tharp is a little known geologist and cartographer responsible for mapping the ocean floor and proving the existence of the rift/valleys along the ocean floor, the missing piece in the theory of continental drift. She faced sexism her whole life but when the world opened up a bit for women during WWII, she took advantage of the opportunity and studied math and science, specifically geology. Though sexism again would not let her take part in the actual research trips once she was hired by a lab, she dutifully plotted the points received from the sonar data. When her male colleague didn't believe her findings, she did the whole thing a second time. Finally Jacques Cousteau sent his camera down and proved her right, that there was a rift valley on the ocean floor. Back matter includes an author's note, science q and a, and resources for further reading. The illustration style here was rather interesting-- the people were all a bit cartoonish, and the color scheme focused on blues and yellows. I liked it though and it was definitely reminiscent of the beach.

Jess Keating tells Marie Tharp’s story of discovery and discrimination with the words of a master storyteller. Using figurative language that is pure enjoyment to read, she brings to life a scientist that most of us had never heard of, yet who made a huge impact on our understanding of our earth today. The illustrations are well matched with the text, and the back matter has interesting information for readers curious for more. Highly recommend this book for libraries and classrooms.

A gorgeous little book about Marie Tharp, whose work in cartography revealed a continuous, deep ridge valley in the Atlantic Ocean. This was previously an unknown thing, and her colleagues didn't believe her at first (due in great part to the fact that she was a woman, in a traditionally man's field), but the evidence was irrefutable, and she was proven correct. While the story doesn't mention it, the author's note at the end reveals that she wasn't given credit at the time, but did finally get the credit she deserved. Her discovery through her work changed the field of earth science, leading to acceptance of the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics, and she did this in an office, using paper, ink, and the readings from ships she wasn't allowed to be on, because "women are bad luck on ships." Feh! Her maps are now in the Library of Congress, who gave her double honors in 1997, and named her one of the four greatest cartographers of the twentieth century. If that ain't inspirational for young girls, I don't know what is!
The illustrations are fabulously detailed and vibrant, and really bring a lot of energy to the text. The spreads of her working on the map are particularly beautiful.

#OceanSpeaks #NetGalley

Can't decide which I enjoyed more, the text or the illustrations? "Ocean Speaks" is an inspiring story for children to learn about overcoming challenges with a scientific spin.

'Ocean Speaks' is a beautifully illustrated children's book/ biography about Maria Thorp, the scientists who mapped the deep rift in the ocean floor. It is about a woman breaking barriers but not in an overt way that would turn off many readers.

This is a phenomenal informative picture book about Marie Thorp. She was a geologist and oceanographer. At first she was not allowed out at sea. But, she still explored the marvelous ocean just a different way. She discovered marvels others had never known of.

I requested and received an e-ARC of this book from Jess Keating and Penguin Random House Canada through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I loved reading this book! Before reading this book, I had never heard of Marie Tharp and now I know what a difference she made in the world of oceanic cartography and the importance of her discovery. I loved that Marie did not care what others thought of her findings and that she believed in herself and the work she had completed enough to keep trying to convince others that her findings were correct.

Great book, important story! I didn’t know about Tharp, her discovery, or the reaction to it. Jess Keating tells her story well, and I appreciated her author’s note with more details.

I loved the illustrations - perfect story accompaniment with the blue and green ocean tones and pops of yellow-gold. Great palette. I’d love for illustrator Katie Hickey to come decorate my house. And will keep an eye out for more of her work.

Ocean Speaks is an adorable picture book Marie Tharp and her contributions in mapping the ocean floor. I had no idea that she even existed until I read this book. I found her story so interesting and I look forward to reading more about her. I love that this is introducing her story to young kids. The art is great!

'Ocean Speaks: Marie Tharp and the Map That Moved the Earth' by Jess Keating with illustrations by Katie Hickey tells the story of the woman who mapped the ocean floor.

Marie Tharp as a young girl loved watching the world. She learned about science. She wanted to go on ships, but wasn't allowed to at the time. She stayed back and plotted the data coming in, and found something astounding. She discovered an undersea mountain range. She wasn't believed at first, but made a really important discovery.

I liked this telling of a historical person. It concludes with more biographical information and a short Q&A section. The illustrations are great and I especially love the really large page spreads used to show how large Marie Tharp's maps were.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Beautiful illustrations accompany this inspiring autobiography about an amazing woman in science that many have likely never heard of before.

Jess Keating has a knack for finding topics that kids will enjoy reading about. The World of Weird Animals series, for example, introduces them to blob fish, axolotls, and snot otters. She also loves to share the stories of female scientists that may not be commonly known, such as Shark Lady, Eugenie Clark. This time around she has put together a look at Marie Tharp's use of depth soundings to map the floor of the ocean and the amazing secrets that map revealed.

The details about Marie's early explorations with her father help to show how her curiosity became strong enough to overcome the limitations placed on girls and women of her day. The need for women to enter the work force during the war is one that appears in many stories from the past(Hidden Figures, Code Girls, etc.), and could lead to a unit of study or independent research on the topic. Her perseverance in spite of those limits and the disbelief and even being told her work was wrong is an excellent example for young people.

The text offers wonderful stylistic points for students to emulate in their own writing. The alliterative series "forests and farmhouses, boulders and birdcalls, wheat fields and waterfalls" paints a vivid mental image of her adventures with her father. A later series similarly lists all the topics she plunged into when science and math were made more open to female students. The use of figurative language such as "she swam through bottles of pitch black ink" also makes a wonderful connection between Marie's work in the office and the ocean that she was mapping.

Scenes of a young Marie sticking together her sculpture with bubble gum contrast with her exuberance in covering a chalkboard with equations once she is allowed to study what interests her. The books stacked near the chalkboard reflect her interests as well - showing titles by Aristotle, Darwin, and Einstein. Those figurative journeys she took in her office are depicted with Marie standing on a large paper boat or surrounded by clouds of calculations. The watercolor and pencil illustrations capture the mood on every page.

Back matter includes a photo of Marie, an author's note about Marie's work and how it was initially rejected, and then finally recognized as correct. There are a few Q&A about sonar and ocean mapping, the mid-ocean ridge, and women as scientists. Several suggestions for further reading, as well as the URL to view Marie's maps on the Library of Congress website are also provided.

This is an excellent book for those looking to highlight female contributions to science; for units on mapping, geology, and plate tectonics; or as a mentor text for writing.

Written for young readers, it is a quick dive into the life of Marie Tharp as an ocean cartographer.

A great quick read poised to show little girls they can do anything they want. The illustrations are cute and fun and its a great insightful non-fiction piece.

Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp Revealed the Ocean's Biggest Secret by Jess Keating is a nonfiction picturebook currently scheduled for release on June 30 2020. 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 in a laboratory at Cambridge University, New York. But then she faced another obstacle: 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.

Ocean Speaks is a read that just might inspire a new generation of children to follow the interests or fields of study they love even when society might cause stumbling blocks. Marie Tharp loved the ocean, and want to take part in the study of it. Because of restrictions placed on her due to gender she was relegated to the background, and her results and work with the data were often dismissed or claimed by others for the very same reason. It was a little satisfying to see that her conclusions were proven, after being dismissed for so long. However, it is often also infuriating to read about how people's intelligence and hard work are so often dismissed, stolen, or mocked because of gender or other factors. I liked learning about Tharp and her work, because much of the information was new to. I also liked the deeper look at her work and the science at the end of the book.

Ocean Speaks is a well written book that can engage a wide range of readers, and I think it would be an especially good addition to school and classroom libraries for the lower grades.

The illustrations in this book is breath-taking! Thanks to the publisher for the advanced reading copy. We quite enjoyed the story and it really promoted the idea that little girls can grow up and be anything that they wish to be. This book would not really work for a younger children's story time as there is quite lengthy bits of text on each page. However, it would be a fabulous book for a read a loud. I think the illustrations, being so inviting and awe-inspiring, will capture the children's attention to stay involved until the very end. The illustrations would be a great conversation starter throughout. What a cute, delightful, read! Beautiful illustrations too!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. One of my favorite books is by Jess Keating called Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist. So, when I saw that she had a new book featuring another female scientist, I knew I had to read it. Ocean Speaks is poetic, the illustrations are wonderful and really bring the story to life, and the facts are great for readers of all ages to follow. This will definitely be a book in my classroom.

This is a biographical picture book about Marie Tharp and how her map of the ocean floor impacted science forever. Even though doors were closed to Marie because she was female, she opened scientific doors that researchers are still walking through today. From the author’s note, “Throughout her life she worked in the background. But, like the shifting earth she mapped so beautifully, Marie proved that those in the background can have incredibly powerful influences on the world.” This is a great story (even more so because it’s true) of a female scientist not letting the world tell her what she can and cannot accomplish. Plus the illustrations are above and beyond incredible. There is one where Marie is drawing a map and it’s spilling out of her lap like a blanket that I just love.

This picture book introduces Marie Tharp to young readers who may never have heard of her before. Marie's father was a geologist and mapmaker and Marie wanted to grow up to be like him, although she lived in a time when women were not supposed to become scientists. Marie did fulfill her dream, although it did not unfold in quite the way she may have hoped or imagined. Marie was not allowed aboard the research vessels and was relegated to plotting data points onto a map instead. This map lead to a great discovery that created a rift in the world and the scientific community. This rift put Marie on the map, although she didn't get proper credit for many years. The illustrations are lovely and inviting and the afterward with more information about Marie and her discovery is an integral part of this book.

Ocean Speaks is another lovely picture book biography, that tells children about how Marie Tharp overcame stereotypes and became a scientist, in a time when women did not often become scientists. She was an American geologist and oceanic cartographer, and she mapped out a rift that others didn't believe existed! She persevered and proved her map correct!