Moonbeam Silver Award

A Picture-Perfect Science Selection of NSTA Press

Many thousands of years ago, when a mile-thick sheet of ice began to let go of the land, the Atlantic Ocean flooded green valleys that had been scooped by glaciers, and the salty waves of an inland sea lapped the green hills of Vermont. Into this arm of the sea swam the beluga whale now known as Charlotte, Vermont’s state fossil. This is Charlotte’s story.

ERIN ROUNDS is a mom and a fourth-grade ELA and social studies teacher. A writer since grade school, she strives to teach her students to find and share their stories, because you never know what you might find when you dig deep and stop to observe what lies beneath. Charlotte’s Bones is her first published work.

ALISON CARVER studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design and biology at Oberlin College and Swansea University. She designs and illustrates publications, displays, and sets for ecological, theatrical, and historical organizations including the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, the New Jersey Pinelands Preservation Alliance, Friends of Colonial Pemaquid, and the Opera Festival of New Jersey. Charlotte’s Bones is her first full-color illustrated book project.

“Brilliant. Erin Rounds’ writing feels like magic. Use this book as a mentor text to teach showing not telling, imagery, and sentence fluency. It’s also a lovely example of how to make science come to life through a narrative story.” - Melissa Taylor, Imagination Soup

“Extensive back matter provides details about the scientific impact of the discovery, beluga whales and other Ice Age mammals of the Champlain Valley, a glossary, and further resources. A well-researched historical narrative.” - Caroline Davis, Benicia PL, ACLNC BayViews

“ A substantial introduction to a significant North American fossil.” - Kirkus