WILD & WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY: A Gift of Dust by Martha Brockenbrough & Juana Martinez-Neal
ABOUT THE BOOK
This dust . . .
of what lived once
sustains what lives today
and what will be born . . .
tomorrow.
An ancient catfish becomes a fossil, and as the lake where it lived dries up, the fossil turns to dust--but this isn't ordinary dust. This dust begins in Chad, West Africa, but winds carry it across the continent, over the Atlantic ocean, to nourish and replenish the Amazon rain forest and beyond.
A Gift of Dust takes readers on a journey that shows just how interconnected our planet is, and how something so small can have such a huge impact. With lyrical, awe-inspiring verse based in fact, and stunning art from a Caldecott honoree, this is a story for our times.
REVIEW
Blown from the Sahara desert, dust from an extinct lake bed and a fossilized fish makes it way out over the Atlantic Ocean. The dust helps nourish the ocean as well as the Amazon rain forest. Using lyrical, poetic text, Brockenbrough describes for readers this unique process that connects parts of the world that are thousands of miles apart. The illustrations create a stunning accompaniment to this tale of 'a scattered sparkle" of dust and its impact on the world, for good or ill. The fact that this dust can be seen from space makes an amazing picture based on an image from NASA shared in the back matter. This book is not only a work of art itself but it highlights the interconnectedness of the planet despite all the man-made boundaries. In addition to the photograph of the dust being blown across the Atlantic Ocean, the back matter includes more information about the processes involved and the effects they have on the planet. Suggestions for where to find more information online and in books concludes the back matter. Highly recommended both as a great example of picture book nonfiction and as an open door into the world of ecosystems and global connections. How small things can have a great effect.
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