Extremely well-meaning but not quite as well-done.
A sweeping introduction to the wild horses of the American West, their past, present, and possible future.
Farley, well-known for her wildly popular middle-grade series Phantom Stallion, divides her subject into several parts, opening with the heartfelt story of Wild Horse Annie, one of the first activists determined to save wild horses from abuse and slaughter, and ending with the equally warm stories of several teens working for the same cause. In the middle, she covers the history of wild horses in North America, the instincts that govern horses in the wild, and why and how the horses are disappearing from the wild. While the book is nonfiction, Farley often assumes a horse's or person's fictional point of view to bring an expository section to life. Harder to follow are some of her middle chapters about conflicts between the horses and the Bureau of Land Management. Readers will struggle to make sense of the reason for the inclusion of other details, such as when a contractor legally capturing wild horses finds a small band that has been shot dead. Less emotion and more logic would have created a more compelling argument. Farley includes an author's note, glossary, chapter notes, a bibliography, and an index, but not the one thing young readers would want most: advice on how they too can help the cause of the wild horses.
Extremely well-meaning but not quite as well-done. (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-39294-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
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
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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