I had a blank canvas to fill with extraordinary possibilities, a fascinating jigsaw puzzle to piece together."

Marie Tharp always loved maps.  Traveling with her father to make surveys, she felt like maps talked to her. Then in college, a teacher pointed out that though the oceans cover more than half the earth's surface, scientists knew very little about the bottom of the seas. She wondered, how deep are the oceans? Is the seafloor flat or are there mountains on the ocean floor?

In the 1940s Marie entered a world where it was not easy to be a woman and a scientist. And having a woman on a ship was thought to be bad luck.  Still she persevered. Today Marie Tharp is considered one of the twentieth century's most important scientists, though she is little known.

Award-winning author Robert Burleigh tells the story of Marie Tharp's imagination and determination. Luminously illustrated by Raul Colon, Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea is a book that will inspire readers to follow their dreams.

From the dust jacket