A big, multistranded discovery story.
Close focus on a spectacular set of 2013 fossil finds in South Africa leads to a comprehensive overview of Homo sapiens’ extinct cousins and progenitors.
The actual discovery of Homo naledi skeletons—parts of more than 15 individuals, the largest trove of hominid fossils yet found in Africa—in the narrow and tortuous Rising Star cave makes an exhilarating tale. Both of the authors being educators, though, that’s only their starting point as they draw readers in by addressing them directly, slip in questions to consider, and lace their narrative with mysteries to ponder. They also describe how women and Black South African scientists and students were recruited into the project and how, through videos and social media, even schoolchildren in other countries (including Mead’s sixth grade class) were able to follow its progress. What the authors characterize as a “story-in-motion” gains further nuance from detailed introductions to 19 (and counting, if anything comes of a 2025 find in China) more human predecessors. Foley offers a nifty cross-section of the cave system, as well as portraits of racially diverse workers in engaging poses. Lucid sidebar explanations of the difference between “hominid” and “hominin” and other fine points of paleontology, along with a generous capping set of annotated resources, further strengthen this enticing invitation to witness science in action.
A big, multistranded discovery story. (map, endnotes, index) (Nonfiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2026
ISBN: 9780374392314
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
In the same format as his Newbery Honor title The Great Fire (1995), Murphy brings the blizzard of 1888 to life. He shows how military weather-monitoring practices, housing and employment conditions, and politics regarding waste management, transportation monopolies, and utilities regulation, all contributed to—and were subsequently affected by—the disaster. He does so through an appealing narrative, making use of first-hand accounts whose sources he describes in his notes at the end (though, disappointingly he cites nothing directly in the text). The wealth of quotable material made available through the letters of members of “the Society of Blizzard Men and Blizzard Ladies” and other sources help to make the story vivid. Many drawings and photographs (some of the blizzard, but most of related scenes) illustrate the text. These large reproductions are all in a sepia-tone that matches the color of the typeface—an effect that feels over-the-top, but doesn’t detract significantly from the power of the story. Murphy’s ability to pull in details that lend context allows him to tell this story of a place in time through the lens of a single, dramatic episode that will engage readers. This is skillfully done: humorous, jaw-dropping, thought-provoking, and chilling. (index) (Nonfiction. 9-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-590-67309-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The author of The Snake Scientist (not reviewed) takes the reader along on another adventure, this time to the Bay of Bengal, between India and Bangladesh to the Sundarbans Tiger Preserve in search of man-eating tigers. Beware, he cautions, “Your study subject might be trying to eat you!” The first-person narrative is full of helpful warnings: watch out for the estuarine crocodiles, “the most deadly crocodiles in the world” and the nine different kinds of dangerous sharks, and the poisonous sea snakes, more deadly than the cobra. Interspersed are stories of the people who live in and around the tiger preserve, information on the ecology of the mangrove swamp, myths and legends, and true life accounts of man-eating tigers. (Fortunately, these tigers don’t eat women or children.) The author is clearly on the side of the tigers as she states: “Even if you added up all the people that sick tigers were forced to eat, you wouldn’t get close to the number of tigers killed by people.” She introduces ideas as to why Sundarbans tigers eat so many people, including the theory, “When they attack people, perhaps they are trying to protect the land that they own. And maybe, as the ancient legend says, the tiger really is watching over the forest—for everyone’s benefit.” There are color photographs on every page, showing the landscape, people, and a variety of animals encountered, though glimpses of the tigers are fleeting. The author concludes with some statistics on tigers, information on organizations working to protect them, and a brief bibliography and index. The dramatic cover photo of the tiger will attract readers, and the lively prose will keep them engaged. An appealing science adventure. (Nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-618-07704-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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