Galapagos is a fact-filled, colourful book for young readers about this extraordinary place. Galapagos opens with a detailed map showing the main islands (there are one hundred twenty-eight!) in the Galapagos archipelago. The Galapagos are the product of a hot spot - a plume of magma beneath the islands. Part of the Nazca Plate, one of many tectonic plates that make up the Earth's crust. As the plate drifts over the hotspot, new volcanoes form, creating new islands in the archipelago.
The shield volcanoes, types of lava, and some of the unique volcanic features on the Galapagos are also explored. Jackson then goes on to highlight the importance of the Galapagos' location in the Pacific Ocean and how the meeting of three ocean currents has created the nutrient-rich waters that sustain the archipelago's unique wildlife.
No book about the Galapagos Islands would be complete without information about the voyage of the Beagle and Charles Darwin's visit to the islands in 1835. Darwin's observations of the species of plants and animals unique to each island led him, later on, to write his Origin of Species, explaining his theory of evolution by natural selection.
A large part of the book offers an in-depth look at the wildlife on Galapagos, including reptiles (iguanas and large tortoises), birds, marine life and plants.
The chapter on plant focuses on the five different plant zones on the islands and the unique trees, shrubs and other plants that thrive in each zone.
The final chapter, People and Preservation explores the people who live on the Galapagos - known as Galapaguenos and how the arrival of humans on the islands has impacted the ecosystems there.
Discussion
Galapagos is a detailed, colourful and engaging book for young readers, offering them an in-depth look at this unique archipelago. Readers are provided with maps throughout the book to help orient them and the Galapagos story begins with an explanation as to how the islands formed. Jackson then explains how life arrived on these islands which seem so isolated. This provides a clean seque into the voyage of the Beagle and Charles Darwin's observations that eventually led him to propose his theory of evolution.
There are plenty of colour photographs, colourful illustrations, maps and charts to hold the interest of younger readers. Each page is filled with interesting facts presented in short, simple text. Unfortunately, much of the text tends to very small and on some pages, the black text on a dark background, usually purples, blues and greens make reading difficult.
Overall, this is a well written, fascinating book about the Galapagos that will be sure to inspire young readers to learn more about this unique place, to work to preserve our planet's ecosystems and, maybe even to travel to the Galapagos one day.
Book Details:
Earth's Extraordinary Places: Galapagos by Tom Jackson
New York: DK Publishing 2022
127 pp.
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