MOUNTAINS

How does the fossil of an ocean fish end up on a mountaintop? This question, posed only on the jacket flap, is answered by this simplified description of basic geological processes, introducing plate tectonics, mountain building, erosion and the formation of sedimentary rocks and making the point that mountains don’t last forever. The smooth text is broken up into short phrases and vocabulary is defined in context, but the intended audience will struggle with words like “sedimentary” and “tectonic.” Harrison concludes with an author’s note directed at an older reader whose help may well be needed. Clean and colorful, the stylized illustrations give an almost three-dimensional look to each double-page spread. They support and amplify the text, except for the page showing men riding horses on a dry Western landscape while the words describe people hiking and fishing in the woods (as shown on the cover). Like others in the Earthworks series, suggestions for further reading are similar topic books; there is no glossary or index. An attractive introduction. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-8)