Coppens, Katie

"A history of humans' understanding of Earth, our impact on it, and the steps we must take to save countless species--including our own"--Back cover.

"A sobering yet hopeful book about earth's history and future, and how to make a difference What is Earth's history, including the history of life? Where is Earth headed, and what can we do? A middle school science teacher addresses these questions with a friendly narrative voice and a focus both on how science is done and the diverse people who do it. Women like Mary Anning and Rachel Carson get equal attention to men like James Hutton and Georges Cuvier. Present problems of the Earth discussed include not only climate change but human-caused extinctions, plastic pollution, and invasive species. A final section suggests things kids can do to make a difference, from changing their behavior as consumers to recycling, energy use, and voting"--.

"Acadia Greene wants answers. Who keeps stealing her blueberries just as they ripen on the bushes? Why is her hair curly? Why does the sun wake her up so early in the summer? Why does the tide submerge her sandcastles? How do rocks become sand? Acadia doesn't set out to do science, but she has these important questions and her scientist parents refuse to simply feed her the answers. 'Conduct an experiment,' they tell her. 'Use the scientific method.' So Acadia gathers evidence, makes hypotheses, designs experiments, uses the results to test her hypotheses, and draws conclusions"--Provided by publisher.