Not so much a systematic identification guide as a broad, engagingly informal reminder that we are sharing our immediate...
An unfocused but mildly entertaining introduction to our nonhuman neighbors and housemates.
Expanding his definition of “urban animals” to include butterflies, zebra mussels, cougars and even certain kinds of whales, Read presents quick tallies of creatures who have proven adaptable enough to thrive, or at least survive, in or near towns and cities. They do so largely, he claims, because we destroy their natural habitats and also, deliberately or otherwise, feed them. He seems fonder of colorful figures of speech than strict accuracy—deer in Boston are hardly “as common as dandelions,” and conversely many might wish that city pigeons were only “as common as McDonald’s outlets.” Nevertheless, he presents a reasonably extensive menagerie of mammals, birds, reptiles and “creepy crawlies” that urban or suburban U.S. and Canadian readers are more than likely to encounter. Aside from one scene of falcons chowing down on a pigeon, the mix of close-up and mid-distance color photos on every spread present their subjects in fetching poses. A discourse on invasive species and a closing appeal to conserve wild spaces are tangential but not entirely foreign to his main subject.
Not so much a systematic identification guide as a broad, engagingly informal reminder that we are sharing our immediate surroundings, as well as our world in general, with others. (index, glossary, online resources) (Nonfiction. 11-13)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55469-394-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2012
Here is an adventure in a unique setting. The lively text and lovely watercolors document three and a half months of a summer the artist and author spent at the South Pole, as part of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists & Writers Program. Hooper describes everyday life aboard the research ship Laurence M. Gould, a sturdy orange icebreaker that scientists use to travel between the islands to study the wide variety of animals who come each year to breed and raise their young. An assortment of penguins, elephant seals, giant petrels, huge skuas, and leopard seals hold center stage. Scientists are less important than the serious business of successfully raising young in the short summer season. The author captures the drama of the ice-cold ocean, alive with life: “Swarms of barrel-shaped blue-tinged salps, stuck together in floating chains. Minute creatures with red eyes. Sliding through the water in a curving path like a ribbon.” The artist provides striking paintings of the landscape and the animals in soft washy colors, and quick pencil sketches. The ice is lemon gold with mauve shadows, and the sea a silver gray in the 24-hour day. Animals are expressive and individual. The krill, the tiny shrimp-like creatures that form the backbone of the ocean food chain, appear in luminous glory. The author concludes with a page on global warming, a map of the islands visited, and an index. From cover to cover a personal and informative journey. (Nonfiction. 7-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7188-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
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
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