Cunningham, Laura. Bay Area Through Time, The. Laura Cunningham, Illus. Non-fiction. Heyday, 07/2015. [26]p. $16.00. 978-1-59714-301-4. ADDITIONAL. GRADES 2-5.
For those interested in the paleontological past of the area they live in, this title is a useful introduction to how everything changes over long periods of time. Cunningham uses watercolor illustrations to broadly introduce various time periods to the readers, highlighting tidbits about the animals, plants, and geological features of the area. She starts with current time, goes back 300 years (with native people), then skips back 40 thousand years, 30 million years, 80 million years, and 450 million years, charting the extreme changes that the San Francisco Bay Area (and California) has experienced over time. This is not a story but has the flavor of a brief time-travel trip with fact-filled captions and lightly detailed illustrations. While the title does include a final spread suggesting some day trips for seeing and touching the past, there are only a few keywords defined and a very basic timeline included. There is no table of contents, glossary, or index.
Joshua Rees, Daly City PL