As you can see from the cover oif LEO GEO AND HIS MIRACULOUS JOURNEY THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE EARTH by Jon Chad (Roaring Brook, March 2012), this book looks a bit different even before you turn the page. Once you open the cover, be prepared for more surprises. The book is meant to be held in a different way as well (and the inside endpaper gives you instructions as to the proper way to hold and read the book. Join Leo as he begins his journey into the center of the earth and perhaps even out the other side. Along the way, readers will learn quite a bit about the geological structures of the crust and mantle and core. There is some fiction here, of course, and the afterword by the author separates out fact and fiction nicely. Science teachers could use this book to do just that: ask students to list the fictional components of the story after a study of geology. <502>
Kate Messner's OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle Books 2011) with illustrations by Christopher Silas Neal also concenttrates on what is under us. In this case, it is the life under the snow. A young girl (could be a boy) and her father are skiing. Father relates information about the life under their feet in the winter. In lyrical language that parallels the rhythm of the skis, Messner provides a story that informs and entertains. There is a terrific author's note, a list of books for more reading, and other back matter as well. <503>
