Content

This specific concept book takes you on a journey through the Grand Canyon with a father and daughter duo. Occasionally, Chin shows the reader what the canyon looked like millions of years ago and what life might have been found there. Through each level, he talks about the animals and plants that grow and live there currently.

Some events of the book: 

1. The father and daughter team start by hiking along the Colorado River and notice all the wildlife that surrounds the river.

2. They climb up into the canyon and out of the Inner Gorge, passing by layers of "time" stacked on top of each other.

3. They climb even higher through the Bright Angel Shale and observe the California condors, which are near extinction.

4. Then they reach the Redwall Cliff, at the top of which is the Hermit Formation. The book talks about what kinds of creatures you may find there.

5. The pair see bighorn sheep in the cliffs above the Hermit Formation. The last layer they explore before climbing out of the canyon is the Kaibab Formation.

Message

There are lots of people who visit the Grand Canyon each year, but still many more that may never see it with their own eyes. This book allows children to take a virtual field trip and get an education along

Evaluation

I have been to the Grand Canyon, but because my parents are not big hikers, I have not set foot too far within its walls. It has always been a dream of mine to hike from rim to rim. I enjoyed learning about the geology of the layers and what it would have looked like millions of years ago before the canyon was even formed.

Nonfiction Text Features

captions for pictures and Latin names of animals; extensive gatefold at the end; die cuts to show the biomes, paleontological layers, and layers of sediment rock; map of the canyon; diagrams with labels