Grand Canyon, written by Jason Chin, reviewed by Caroline Rabideau

Summary: Grand Canyon is a non-fiction picture book for older or more advanced readers. In picture book format, it discusses the animal life currently residing in the Canyon, as well as the animals that used to live here. It talks about how the canyon was formed, with layers of rock building upon each other, as well as rivers carved out from the rock, and how these formations provide a suitable home for hundreds of animals. It talks about the climate in different areas of the canyon, and different vegetation that grows in each area as a result. Throughout the whole book, it follows a young hiker and her father. They are hiking through the canyon and making these observations. But they also use the young girl to show what it would have been like thousands of years ago, by setting her in the prehistoric scene.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This is one of my favorite books I’ve picked up this year. The illustrations are beautiful, and I have spent quite a great deal of time staring at each page, amazed by the detail. Every inch of the page is used to illustrate what the text is trying to explain. Often borders are used to list examples, or cut outs in the page are used to show what once created a fossil. The text is packed full of facts, giving understandable explanations for words like erosion. I believe this book would be great in a science classroom to introduce how rock formations and rivers come to be, or to
begin a unit on fossils. I believe the beautiful pictures will interest many students into picking it

up as an independent reading selection. It could also be used in a research project about locations or landmarks. Grand Canyon would be beautiful on a United States landmark display in a library. I will note, the text is dense, so while the pictures may appeal to younger students, I would not recommend for lower than 3rd grade, unless they have a lot of assistance in reading it. Overall, I highly recommend this book. I have purchased a few copies for family birthdays, etc. I am just blown away by how beautiful a non-fiction
book can be, while still including so much information. I am hopeful that the publisher will continue to make similar books about other US Landmarks.