Mario y el agujero en el cielo / Mario and the Hole in the Sky
Cmo un qumico salv nuestro planeta

By: Elizabeth Rusch/ Illustrated by:Teresa Martnez

We saved the planet once. We can do it again.

Una historia real sobre un cientfico contemporneo que salv la capa de ozono y el planeta, evitando un desastre en el medioambiente.

Mario Molina es un cientfico mexicoamericano y un hroe de nuestros das que ayud a resolver la crisis de la capa de ozono de la dcada de 1980. Se cri en la Ciudad de Mxico y desde nio sinti curiosidad por los mundos ocultos que estudiaba a travs de un microscopio. De joven, ya viviendo en California, descubri que el clorofluorocarbono, o CFC, que se usa en millones de refrigeradores y aerosoles, estaba haciendo un agujero en la capa de ozono que protege la Tierra. Mario tuvo que alertar al mundo… y rpido! Mario fue galardonado con el premio Nobel y con la Medalla Presidencial de la Libertad. Su inspiradora historia es una esperanza en la lucha contra el calentamiento global.

Growing up in Mexico City, Mario Molina was a curious boy who studied hidden worlds through a microscope. As a young man in California in the 1980s, he discovered that CFCs, used in millions of refrigerators and spray cans, were tearing a hole in the earth’s protective ozone layer. Mario knew the world had to be warnedand quickly. Today, Mario is a Nobel laureate and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His inspiring story shines a ray of hope on the fight against global warming.

Mario y el agujero en el cielo won the Silver Medal in the CBC/Bank Street Best Spanish Language Picture Book Awards. Elizabeth Rusch and Teresa Martinez gave acceptance speeches at the ceremony. Watch here:

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Look Inside

Author & Illustrator

Elizabeth Rusch, author

Elizabeth Rusch is an award-winning children’s book author and magazine writer. She writes both fiction and nonfiction in the areas of science, art, sports, waves, jokes, crayons, and mud anything that catches her fancy. Her children’s books includeVolcano Rising, The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity, and For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Read more aboutElizabeth.

Teresa Martnez, illustrator

Teresa Martnez was born in Mexico. When she was young, she was very shy, and drawing helped her connect with other children at school. When she grew up, she studied graphic design and started illustrating picture books. Now Teresa lives in Puerto Vallarta, drawing for kids as she did during her school days, and that makes her happy.

Read more about Teresa.

Awards & Honors

• Best Spanish Language Picture Book Silver Medal from the Center for Children’s Literature at Bank Street College of Education
• A 2020-21 TLA Tejas Reading List selection

Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

Growing up in Mexico, Mario Molina loved exploring the world around him and performing experiments with his microscope. After attending boarding school in Switzerland and receiving his PhD, Molina began work in the United States, where he made a horrific discovery: CFCs, chemicals used in countless everyday items, were damaging the environment by destroying the ozone layer. Despite Molina and his colleague F. Sherwood Rowlands attempts to publicize this discovery, they were not taken seriously until scientists discovered a huge hole in the ozone above Antarctica. Finally, Molina and Rowlands hard work led to almost every country agreeing to stop the production of CFCs. Vibrant, imaginative illustrations convey the possibilities of science and the urgency of Molinas discoveries and depict Molinas interest from an early age. Both English and Spanish texts flow smoothly. VERDICT An excellent addition to childrens nonfiction collections, and sure to be a great highlight of Hispanic Heritage Month biography collections.

Booklist

This is the story of Mario Molina, a Mexican chemist who was responsible, with his colleagues F. Sherwood Rowland and Paul J. Crutzen, for the discovery of the hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica. Readers learn how Marios parents converted an old bathroom into a laboratory for their son and how his aunt, Esther Molina, also a chemist, helped and challenged him. The story follows Marios trajectory as he continues his medical studies abroad and ends up in California studying the chlorofluorocarbons that had been amassing and damaging the atmosphere. Engaging illustrations and information presented in an easy-to-read format make this title an excellent addition to any Spanish-language nonfiction collection. An epilogue, compare-contrast chart, bibliography, time line, and an authors note are included.

Downloadables

Download the CoverDownload the NSTA Science & Children Lesson Plan Article

linked with permission from the National Science Teachers’ Association

Details

Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-58089-582-8

Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-62354-187-3

E-book
ISBN: 978-1-63289-859-3 EPUB

Ages:6-9
Page count:40
8 1/2 x 11