What's Older Than a Giant Tortoise?

January 1, 2005
Gr 2-4 -After introducing the giant tortoise, a creature that can live " -&more than 150 years -longer than any other known land animal," Wells offers examples of things that are much older. The tortoise boards a magic carpet and flies around the world, stopping in the Sierra Nevada to see a giant sequoia, in Egypt to visit the pyramids, in Arizona to see a meteor crater, at a mammoth fossil site, at Mount Everest, and in New York City to marvel over the fossil skeleton of a "T. rex". Finally, it zooms into outer space to view the Earth and Moon. Done in pen and acrylic, the cartoons are filled with action and humor. An illustrated time line puts the images in perspective; a concluding note gives a bit more information about dating fossils and the use of the Hubble Telescope to date the age of our universe." -Deborah Rothaug, Pasadena Elementary School, Plainview, NY"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2004
PreS-Gr. 3. Wells, whose previous books include " Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?" (1993) and " Can You Count to a Googol?" (2000), now introduces children to some very old things. A giant tortoise, seemingly old at 150 years, embarks on a flying carpet tour to explore what is even older: a giant sequoia tree (3,000 years), the pyramids (4,500 years), Arizona's Meteor Crater (49,000 years), fossilized mammoths (1 million years), Mount Everest (17 million years), the Earth and its moon (4.6 billion years), and the universe (13.7 billion years). Offering a quick trip through time, this book manages to boggle the mind in a way that is stimulating rather than confusing. An integral part of the journey is the clearly delineated, ink-and-acrylic artwork, which uses imaginative touches to keep the tone light and add to the pleasure of the journey. Presenting its information in a child-friendly manner, this picture book makes a good addition to science collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)