The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

Banks, Kate

A Gift from the Sea

40 pp. | Farrar/Foster | April, 2001 | Trade ISBN 0-374-32566-9 $$16.00

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Georg Hallensleben. Banks and Hallensleben trace the history of time through the many transformations of a volcanic rock, now washed ashore by the sea. A small boy discovers the rock on the beach, and as he explores its surface, alternating spreads relate the rock's metamorphosis over millions of years. The shifting landscapes are beautifully evoked by Hallensleben, and the concept of a tangible object that shares the earth's history is effectively conveyed.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2001