While the text was a bit academic, it also has some poetic tone to the writing of Stuck! The Story of La Brea Tar Pits. Joyce Uglow presents the theme of death in the tar pit in a tasteful manner. Overall things are well done, educational and adapted for multiple ages. Perhaps it is not the “best book ever,” but it is a solid science book.
Uglow and Valerya Milovanova (the illustrator) created a younger looking (at first glance) story about how things over the centuries have been trapped in the tar pits. From big to small animals, and even pollen and leaves, they have been stuck deep in the land. Over the centuries we see how not only the land inside changes, but how it “grows” things (like buildings and people) on the outside and up. Then, when someone went digging one day, they got more than they bargained for. Extras at the end allow this to grow with the child, allow it to be a good resource for classrooms and ties things together in a more scientific way. 
The illustrations are a bit not “unreal” but not fully fleshed out. The colors are earth-based and toned. They change as the scenes change to be more open (the farms) compared to the clothes forestry areas of before. They do not shy away from things like the sloth or mammoth being captured or dying but it is tastefully done. Maybe not for the very young, but probably ages five and up will work well. The second to fourth grader probably could read solo as well. Read via an online reader copy, due March 2025