Ocean Speaks: Marie Tharp and the Map That Moved the Earth

Ocean Speaks: Marie Tharp and the Map That Moved the Earth is the simplified, true story of Marie Tharp whose childhood spent exploring the world with her father sparked a deep desire to study the earth as a scientist or an explorer. Despite the fact that these jobs were reserved for men, Marie got a break during the World War II when women were finally encouraged to study science. Her new career in geology was much closer to what she wished to be doing, but Marie was still kept from her real passion: fieldwork. Instead, she worked with the data sent home from her male colleagues sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. It was her job to map the bottom of the ocean, but, when she found a surprising rift valley in the ocean floor, she had to work hard to prove the legitimacy of her discovery. Ultimately, Jacques Cousteau proved her right (when he was trying to prove her wrong), and Marie’s discovery inspired future research in earth sciences and ocean topography.

Jess Keating returns with another inspiring true story of a fearless female working through discrimination to prove that girls can change the world, with the first book being Shark Lady: The Daring Tale of How Eugenie Clark Dove into History. Through the abridged, linear story of Tharp’s meaningful childhood to her major scientific discovery, readers see a woman who persists through adversity and finds success in her own right. Children of both genders with an interest in all things aquatic will appreciate this book as it describes a perception-shifting discovery that paved the way for our current understanding of the ocean and the movement of the earth, but there is much more in this text than just the ocean theme. One thing to note is that the vocabulary and subject matter would better appeal to the elementary level rather than the preschool crowd.

History and art come together to form something special as the beautiful prose and images bring the story to life. Hickey’s digitally assembled watercolour and pencil drawings are a thing to behold whether they are depicting the depths of the ocean or the people who surrounded our protagonist. The facial expressions of disgruntled co-workers are especially humourous. Layers of teals and greens and blues, perfectly balanced, give the reader the sense of importance and mystery of the water.

Ocean Speaks: Marie Tharp and the Map That Moved the Earth is a wonderful follow-up to the much-celebrated Shark Lady and belongs on the shelves of both personal, school and public libraries. It’s a tale to be enjoyed by children who love history, female role models, aquariums, or simply well-told stories.