By
The team behind The Ever-Living Tree takes readers on a simulated five-hour pack-mule trip from rim to floor of the Grand Canyon—through millions of years of geological deposits—and acquaints them with the ecology of the chasm carved by the Colorado River. Dawn breaks through the clouds of an early thunderstorm, summoning rim-dwelling coyotes out to hunt and eagles to soar above “the peaks, valleys and trenches where ancient mountains once stood,” a dizzying vista aptly caught in all its pastel splendor in panoramic spreads. The trail winds in pictorial close-ups past archaic rock paintings, bighorn sheep, Anasazi granaries now homes to squirrels, and other flora and fauna to the bottom, where trekkers can rest in a bunkhouse and mules can be corraled by the river. The return trip will take seven hours; Vieira makes plain that the canyon continues to change, day by day and over millions of years. Endpapers supply names and dates of rock layers; a timeline provides an additional frame of reference. A good general introduction to the subject.
Linda Susan Vieira was raised in Brooklyn, NY, and Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She spent more than 30 years as a resource specialist, master teacher, science mentor, and classroom teacher across the entire spectrum of the educational system, from kindergarten level to college.
Linda is the author of four non-fiction works for children, all of which are published by Walker & Company, New York, and are available in bookstores nationwide. Her first two books, The Ever-Living Tree, The Life and Times of a Coast Redwood and Grand Canyon, A Trail Through Time, feature the illustrations of Christopher Canyon. Her third and fourth books, The Seven Seas, Exploring The World Ocean and The Mighty Mississippi, The Life and Times of America's Greatest River, are illustrated by Higgins Bond. All four books combine science with sweeping views of history.
Linda has also published many teaching resources, including an individual student spelling dictionary, and 14 magazine and newspaper articles.
Her popular workshops in creative writing and children’s literature have inspired hundreds of teachers and students at all grade levels. Her innovative handouts and student displays simplify the planning of lessons across the curriculum. Linda specializes is bringing art and humor into everyday non-fiction writing.
Linda is regularly invited to conferences, conventions, and school districts, to present her original, innovative creative writing ideas for elementary level students. She is available for classroom author visits, professional development for teachers, and school assemblies.
Linda has 3 children and 4 grandchildren in California. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with her Labrador retriever, Hannah.