How the Meteorite Got to the Museum

Jessie Hartland. Blue Apple (Random, dist.), $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-609052-52-2
Having previously explained how Egyptian and prehistoric artifacts arrived in museum displays in How the Sphinx Got to the Museum and How the Dinosaur Got to the Museum, Hartland goes for a hat trick. This time, a science teacher traces a meteor's billions of years spent in space before it entered Earth's atmosphere (thereby becoming a meteorite) and eventually landed near Peekskill, N.Y., in 1992. Hartland reprises the cumulative structure of the earlier books; after the meteorite crashes into a red Chevy Malibu, police arrive to investigate the meteorite "discovered by the teenager, recorded by sports fans, spotted by Virginians, and howled at by the dog as it bolted toward the Earth." A geologist later confirms the meteorite's legitimacy, and the meteorite comes to find a (partial) home at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (the aforementioned teenager went on to sell slices of the meteorite to other buyers, as well, an afterword notes). Exuberant typography, playful paintings, and accessible prose all help Hartland's account make an impact. Ages 6–9. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Nov.)
Reviewed on: 10/14/2013
Release date: 10/01/2013
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