Trapped in the Tar Pit: How Paleontologists Unearthed a City’s Prehistoric Past
by Jessica Stremer; illus. by Alexander Vidal
Primary    Beach Lane/Simon    40 pp.
8/25    9781665953177    $19.99e-book ed.  9781665953184    $10.99

The fascinating story of the La Brea Tar Pits gets a wonderful introduction in Stremer’s (Plight of the Pelican, rev. 3/25) latest offering. In prehistoric times, an earthquake strikes where Los Angeles now stands, allowing sticky black tar to seep up through the cracks. Rainfall obscures the danger that lurks there. A woolly mammoth wades in for a drink and gets trapped. Its cries of distress draw such predators as saber-toothed cats and dire wolves, which also get trapped. In fact, over time, an astonishing variety of animals become stuck in the La Brea Tar Pits. Eventually, the pits fill up with dirt and sand, and the animals’ bones are buried. Humans arrived on the scene around nine thousand years ago, and the nineteenth-century discovery of fossils at the site leads to one of the most exciting advancements in the field: the ability to reconstruct the skeletons of “many different animals” from the area. Stremer’s text is a model of cause and effect, capturing the inherent drama of the original mammoth’s struggle while effortlessly condensing a long timeline without losing focus. Vidal’s digital illustrations consist of vibrant double-page spreads that complement the text and breathe additional life into the story. An extensive background note, illustrated species list, and abbreviated bibliography are appended.

From the September/October 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.