Science facts more surprising than science fiction for teen readers.
The lack of a spine, or even a brain, doesn’t keep invertebrates from learning, remembering, and solving problems.
Defining intelligence as “the ability to benefit and learn from experience and to apply that information to new situations,” the author of Elephant Talk (2011) provides fascinating examples of mindfulness, memory, and learning in a wide variety of invertebrates from earthworms to dragonflies and spider wasps. She includes chapters on jumping spiders, octopuses, honey bees and paper wasps, Argentine ants, mantis shrimps, box jellyfish and slime molds. Text boxes set off on yellow backgrounds offer fast facts about each species described and clear explanations of complicated concepts. Readers accustomed to the smooth storyline of narrative nonfiction may find Downer’s exposition demanding, but this fact-filled text has intriguing examples and surprising, memorable details. Picture Darwin’s family gathered together to play music to earthworms; slime molds mapping the best routes between U.S. urban areas; using the sound of a file on a wooden stake to attract fish bait (a method called “worm grunting”); experimenters playing tug of war with octopuses unwilling to give up their LEGO blocks. Ample backmatter supports the information, making this an ideal starting place for research on any one of these species.
Science facts more surprising than science fiction for teen readers. (endnotes, glossary, bibliography, further reading) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4677-3739-5
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
Congolese-American Sophie makes a harrowing trek through a war-torn jungle to protect a young bonobo.
On her way to spend the summer at the bonobo sanctuary her mother runs, 14-year-old Sophie rescues a sickly baby bonobo from a trafficker. Though her Congolese mother is not pleased Sophie paid for the ape, she is proud that Sophie works to bond with Otto, the baby. A week before Sophie's to return home to her father in Miami, her mother must take advantage
of a charter flight to relocate some apes, and she leaves Sophie with Otto and the sanctuary workers. War breaks out, and after missing a U.N. flight out, Sophie must hide herself and Otto from violent militants and starving villagers. Unable to take Otto out of the country, she decides finding her mother hundreds of miles to the north is her only choice. Schrefer jumps from his usual teen suspense to craft this well-researched tale of jungle survival set during a fictional conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Realistic characters (ape and human) deal with disturbing situations described in graphic, but never gratuitous detail. The lessons Sophie learns about her childhood home, love and what it means to be endangered will resonate with readers.
Even if some hairbreadth escapes test credulity, this is a great next read for fans of our nearest ape cousins or survival adventure. (map, author's note, author Q&A) (Adventure. 12-16)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-16576-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A smart salute to MWD that deserves a wide readership beyond dog lovers and military buffs.
As we come to appreciate more and more the emotional and sentient lives of animals, take a moment to consider the military working dog.
As readers will learn in this admirable introduction to the military’s K-9 corps, they thrive and suffer as much as the women and men who serve. The book starts with a guided tour of the training work and why some breeds have a natural aptitude for the work. It goes on to provide specific vignettes on dogs at war—with vest-pocket biographies of some better-known champs: Nemo, Chips, Sgt. Stubby—while accompanied by numerous photos. Boxed features break up the text and focus closely on various aspects of MWD work (dogs working near helicopters wear goggles to protect their eyes, for instance) as well as debunking myths (dogs bite to kill, dogs go home with handlers each night, dogs are euthanized once their usefulness is over). Hovering over the story are the extreme dangers that the dogs encounter—not because their lives are less worthy, but because they know what they are doing. It comes down to the senses, as Goldsmith explains how the dogs’ noses work (sniffing out improvised explosive devices and alerting soldiers to incoming poisonous gas) and how their hearing helps soldiers avoid ambushes. Kennel masters and handlers contribute first-person accounts.
A smart salute to MWD that deserves a wide readership beyond dog lovers and military buffs. (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5124-1012-9
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016
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