A splendid addition to an exemplary series.
The writer-and-photographer team who introduced readers to flightless parrots, snow leopards, tree kangaroos and the Goliath bird-eating tarantula turn their attention to the elusive lowland tapir.
Traveling in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands with biologist Patricia “Pati” Medici and her team, Montgomery and Bishop experience long, hot days, cramped conditions, nervous waiting and itchy tick bites while searching for this solitary, nocturnal animal. There is a satisfying natural structure to this tale of science research in the field, as initial difficulties give way to the team’s most productive expedition ever. In less than a week, they see tapirs in the wild, find their tracks, take photographs, locate them through radio telemetry, collect “samples of tapir poop, skin, fur, and blood,” and capture and collar two new tapirs, with more to come. This research matters, and the author clearly explains why. Chapters about the team’s day-by-day experiences, written in a lively, first-person voice, include memorable detail; interspersed are sections introducing team members, the ranch where they (and a team investigating giant armadillos) are doing their research, a British teen who helped fund an expedition and record-keeping. Clearly labeled photographs of scientists at work, ranch life, tapirs and other animals of this unfamiliar part of the world add to the book’s appeal.
A splendid addition to an exemplary series. (bibliography, websites, index) (Nonfiction. 10-15)Pub Date: July 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-81548-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Biology professor Greta Binford studies spiders in an Oregon lab and in the field in the Dominican Republic, where she searches for L. Taino, a Caribbean relative of the venomous brown recluse that might provide clues to how and when the recluse genus arrived in North America. The husband-and-wife team who produced the Newbery Honor–winning Sugaring Time (1983), as well as many other titles, follow the arachnologist, beginning with her investigations on the family farm in Indiana. In leisurely, literary prose, Lasky presents the ancient class of arachnids before introducing the scientist and explaining her quest. In the field, Greta looks for particular species whose DNA and venom, when analyzed, can help fill out the family tree. “It’s not a simple story,” the scientist says; neither is the book. On most spreads, a full-bleed photograph is opposed by substantial text and one or two smaller pictures, many without captions. There are occasional maps, and the end matter includes a picture glossary with Latin and common names, which serves as an index to the spider photographs. (sources, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4222-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A surprise baby, the first zoo-born gorilla in the world, put the Columbus, Ohio, zoo on the map. Now well over 50, Colo has entertained zoo-goers, taught researchers, spurred the study and protection of gorillas in the wild and mothered five subsequent generations of gorillas now in zoos around the county. This chronicle of Colo's life includes stories of important events and plentiful details of her daily routine. A busy design surrounds substantial text and includes numerous black-and-white and color photos taken at the zoo. Readers will be drawn in by the events of her birth, including the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation needed to revive the newborn baby found on the concrete cage floor. Raised and clothed like a human baby, she eventually became so strong and strong-willed she was caged like the other gorillas in the zoo and provided with a wild-caught mate. Although she never nursed her own babies, she did nurture grandchildren. Over the years, and with the advice of Dian Fossey, who had studied gorilla behavior in the wild, there were changes in the way gorillas were housed in Ohio and around the country. Colo and others were given a new, more interesting environment and allowed to live in family groups. Sidebars explain trading and breeding policies of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, gorilla mothering and gorilla communication. The book ends with a family tree and photo scrapbook. (endnotes, recommended reading, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-9841554-4-6
Page Count: -
Publisher: Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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