Earth Verse: Haiku from the Ground Up

Rocks, fossils, earthquakes.
Seventeen short syllables?
Earth Science haiku!

In a stunning combination of haiku and impressionistic (but accurate) art, this one-of-a-kind book encourages readers to think playfully about our planet and its wondrous processes. Sibert Medal–winning author Sally M. Walker covers Earth’s many marvels — fossilized skeletons of plants and animals, terrific volcanic eruptions, the never-ending hydrologic cycle — in sometimes straightforward, sometimes metaphoric three-line haikus. Expertly drawn art by William Grill, author-illustrator of Shackleton’s Journey, provides a visual reference for each poem. In clear and creative back matter, Walker and Grill further use their skills to provide additional detailed explanations for the science behind each concept. A unique, artistic intersection of poetry and science, Earth Verse is sure to enthrall any and all readers interested in the world around them.

Sally M. Walker majored in geology and is the author of Sibert Medal winner Secrets of a Civil War Submarine as well as many other nonfiction books, including Boundaries: How the Mason-Dixon Line Settled a Family Feud and Divided a Nation and Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh. Sally M. Walker lives in Illinois.

William Grill is the author-illustrator of Shackleton’s Journey, a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year and winner of a Kate Greenaway Medal, and The Wolves of Currumpaw. He lives in England.