By Noah Lyons | [email protected] | The San Diego Union-Tribune
Author and teacher Cindy Jenson-Elliott says scientific research is never truly done and there is always more to explore. She hopes her latest book will encourage young readers to dig deeper and ask questions.
Jenson-Elliott chipped away at her 18th children's nonfiction book, "The Doomsday Detectives: How Walter and Luis Alvarez Solved the Mystery of Dinosaur Extinction," for the past eight years. And following its official release March 11, the La Jolla High School graduate will be back in town for a book signing and presentation at Warwick's bookstore at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 20.
"The Doomsday Detectives" follows the Alvarezes, a father-son team of researchers who combined their knowledge of physics and geology with the paleontological work of a global "army of science detectives" to explain the extinction of the dinosaurs.
The pair eventually landed on the now widely accepted Alvarez hypothesis that a large asteroid hitting Earth 66 million years ago put an end to the Cretaceous Period, the last period of the Mesozoic Era, and began the Paleogene Period, the first period of the Cenozoic Era.
Jenson-Elliott was initially approached by Lee & Low Books to write a picture book biography on the Alvarezes' story. But as she conducted research, she felt the story was something greater than a standard picture book or a biography alone.
The result is what she describes as a "science mystery book," with a combination of expository and narrative writing, as well as graphic nonfiction with illustrations by Theo Nicole Lorenz. Though it's targeted toward middle-graders ages 11-14, Jenson-Elliott said adults and younger children can get something out of it, too.
"I would like kids to really be excited for where science is going next," she said. "And for them to understand -- not just kids, but the public -- that with every question we answer, there's another one that pops up. Science is a never-ending process, and that's really the gift we get from scientists."
To bring "The Doomsday Detectives" to life, Jenson-Elliott leaned both on her experience as a teacher and the expertise of scientists at UC San Diego in La Jolla.
The bookends of Jenson-Elliott's career have been as a teacher, before and after a 20-year stretch in which she wrote and worked in nonprofit organizations.
She was teaching middle school science at Nativity Prep Academy in San Diego when she first wrote a 20-page book proposal with sample chapters, nonfiction graphic scripts, outlines and more. Now she is an English teacher at Madison High School in Clairemont.
Often, she said, she writes about science or what she's teaching at the time.
"I knew what kids were required to learn," Jenson-Elliott said. "I started thinking about my own students and what are the best ways they learn. And a lot of the kids really enjoyed learning through graphics, graphic nonfiction and graphic novels."
A piece of her new book came together when she took her students on a field trip to UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where they heard from geoscientist Richard Norris about the Deep Sea Drilling Project, which was coordinated by Scripps Oceanography from 1968 to 1983 and provided data to support the hypothesis of seafloor spreading and helped prove the theory of plate tectonics.
Realizing the connection between ocean history and her story, she asked Norris to read her manuscript. He agreed, made suggestions and referred her to other scientists. Along the way, she connected with Andrew Buffington, a UCSD professor emeritus of astrophysics and a colleague of Luis Alvarez from his Berkeley lab.
"People like to talk about their work," Jenson-Elliott said. "And they like that we're making it understandable to children. Because really, who do you need to buy into what you're doing more than kids? In just a few years, they're going to be the adults who are making the decisions."
A bulk of "The Doomsday Detectives" was written amid the COVID-19 pandemic as Jenson-Elliott saved time on her commute and dug in during summer vacations.
"Very few people can make a living writing and writing books for children in particular," Jenson-Elliott said. "Because of that, I really don't keep track of how much time I spend, because if that was what was important to me, I'd probably want to find another career."
The book signing in La Jolla represents a homecoming of sorts for Jenson-Elliott, who not only attended high school here but serves as an instructor for UCSD Extended Studies' children's book writing certificate program.
She honed her writing skills as features editor for the Hi-Tide, La Jolla High's student newspaper.
"That really was a goal I had in my life -- to be able to write books ... for people to enjoy and be able to explore the world through writing," Jenson-Elliott said. "I feel very grateful that I've been able to do that, and that did begin at La Jolla High with teachers who supported us and friends who were excited about things.
"I still have friends from high school who still live here. I have friends I grew up with and friends I've raised my kids with. ... I really feel supported."
Hardback copies of "The Doomsday Detectives" are available for $21.95. For more information, visit cindyjensonelliott.com. ♦