SOLVING THE PUZZLE UNDER THE SEA by Robert Burleigh. Illus. by Raul Colon. New York:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016. 32p. ISBN 978-14814-16009 hc. $17.99   Gr. 1-4   JUV NF

The story of Marie Tharp, mapmaker, is narrated in first person and begins with, "Maps. I love them."  She tells about growing up with a family that moved from state to state as her father was commissioned to make maps around the country.   She graduated from college in 1948, still in love with maps, but curious about land formations under the ocean.  Banned from science boats because she was a woman, Marie studied from shore and mapped out "soundings" which sent sound waves to the bottom of the ocean and echoed back to indicate the depth of the water.  She identified the very deep Mid-Atlantic Ridge which then served to further studies of plate tectonics.  Colon's amazing illustrations are created in watercolor on textured paper, accented with colored pencil and a wave effect that gives a 3-D look to the landscape.  There's a short biography of Marie Tharp, a glossary of geologic terms, and a research bibliography to round out the information in this beautiful book.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI