The Street Beneath My Feet - (Look Closer) by Charlotte Guillain (Hardcover)

About the Book

A double-sided foldout book extending to eight feet in length, The Street Beneath My Feet takes you on a wondrous illustrated journey deep underground through every layer of the Earth.

Book Synopsis

This award-winning, double-sided foldout book takes you on a fascinating journey down through the layers of the Earth, all the way to the planet's core and out the other side.

When you're out walking around, whether on the city streets or a country trail, there's always so much to see and hear. But do you ever stop and look down? Have you ever wondered what's going on deep in the ground under your feet?

There are so many amazing sights to see! One side of the foldout shows the ground beneath the city, while the reverse side shows the ground beneath the countryside. The underground scenes include tunnels and pipes, creatures' burrows, layers of rock, and the planet's molten core, each running seamlessly into the next.

Mixing urban and rural settings, covering subjects such as geology, archaeology, and natural history, The Street Beneath My Feetoffers children the opportunity to explore their world through a detailed learning experience. And its foldout, laperello (or concertina) style, which extends to eight feet in length, is ideal for spreading out on the floor to pore over for hours.

Explore even more of the world with The Skies Above My Eyes (August 2018) and The World Around Me (October 2020), companion books from the Look Closer series.

A 2018 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students: K-12 (National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council)

A 2018 American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children's Book - All Ages

Review Quotes

A 2018 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students: K-12 (National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council)--NSTA-CBC

"A foldout, concertina format creates a visceral sense of a journey to the center of the Earth.... Zommer's illustrations are a hive of subterranean activity, and Guillain's captionlike bursts enthuse about everything readers are seeing."--Publishers Weekly

"The earth science is simple but made glorious by the illustrations, homely and fantastic at once, as in a picture of a subway car, headlights streaming, above a layer of sedimentary rock and, further below, caves with spiky stalactites and stalagmites. The pictures are packed with detail, but each one says adventure--look, diamonds!--as much as education."--The Horn Book

"The painted, stenciled, and collaged illustrations are full-bleed, and the tones graduate pleasantly from light colors at the surface of the Earth to rich pinks, yellows, and oranges as readers near the Earth's core. The text is informative...including such nuggets as "earthworms are expert recyclers, eating dead plants in the soil." An unusual offering for the young geology nerd."--Kirkus Reviews--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Charlotte Guillain lives in Oxfordshire, UK. She writes fiction and non-fiction for children, including the picture book Spaghetti with the Yeti, which was shortlisted for Oscar's First Book Prize 2014 and has featured in CBeebies Bedtime Stories. The Street Beneath My Feet, Charlotte's first title for words & pictures, was shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2018 and named an ALSC Notable Children's Book 2018 in the All Ages category, as well as being selected by the Guardian as one of 15 'modern classics'.

Yuval Zommer graduated from the Royal College of Art with an M.A. in illustration and pursued a successful career in advertising before returning to his true love of children's literature. Following the release of his debut picture book, The Big Blue Thing On The Hill, Yuval hasn't looked back. The Street Beneath My Feet, Yuval's first title for words & pictures, in collaboration with author Charlotte Guillain, was shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2018 and named an ALSC Notable Children's Book 2018 in the All Ages category, as well as being selected by the Guardian as one of 15 'modern classics'. Yuval and Charlotte's follow-up title, The Skies Above My Eyes, continues with the innovative concertina format of their first book, this time looking up at the sky and universe above us. He lives and works in London, UK.