THE MYSTERY OF THE CHALK SEA - GERMAN BOOK

Climate change in the distant past

“A natural disaster 66 million years ago wiped out almost all life on Earth. It’s a grim story, but it also shows that life returned and evolved into the world we know today.” That’s what Charlotte Blay and Lykke Bianca say, who created this new children’s book about the Chalk Sea.

Charlotte and Lykke have already taken several walks together along Stevns Klint, and it was there they got the idea to have the inhabitants of the Chalk Sea tell a curious boy the story of why the dinosaurs disappeared. “It should of course be a fun and exciting story,” they explain, “but also informative.” The book was therefore created in collaboration with experts in geology and paleontology and is published in Danish, English and German.

“The story of the meteor that wiped out half of all life on Earth is universal,” explains Charlotte Blay. “The catastrophe struck the entire planet and caused the largest climate changes in Earth’s history. And so here in small Denmark, at Stevns Klint, we find some of the best evidence of what happened. That’s why the cliff was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2014. And if something is a World Heritage site, we have to take special care of it,” she says.

Charlotte Blay has been writing books for over 40 years and has published more than 80 titles for children, young adults and adults, and has received several literary prizes. She has also written song lyrics, cookbooks and scripts for Danmarks Radio. She lives and works near Stevns and loves history and travel.

Lykke Bianca (lykkebianca.dk) is a visual artist and illustrator with a special fondness for animals. In addition to book illustrations, she has created artwork for museums, scientific articles, teaching materials, brochures, flyers, postcards, furniture design, manuals, picture books, maps and much more. She lives and works near Stevns.