Will leave readers with a newfound appreciation for these fascinatingly adaptive creatures.
Wily coyotes may be living next door.
Husband-and-wife team Carson and Uhlman follow the work of the Urban Coyote Research Project, started by urban ecologist Stan Gehrt in the late 1990s, when residents of Cook County, Illinois, began reporting coyote sightings. These scientists are attempting to answer a variety of questions: Are these animals a threat to people? Could their presence lead to a healthier ecosystem? Carson examines the history of coyotes in North America, their move into former wolf territory north and east of their original range in the western prairies and deserts, and how these animals have been able to adapt to a variety of environments. She goes more deeply into tracking techniques and discusses coyote family life as the scientists find a den with a litter of pups—new coyotes to be microchipped and followed. Well-chosen and mostly well-captioned photographs make it easy for readers to get a sense of these scientists’ activities and to admire the animals—especially the tiny pups. Carson adeptly weaves a great deal of information into her descriptions. Her readable account includes specifics of the scientists’ activities—caging, tranquilizing, and collaring coyotes—as well as important background. Most interestingly, she emphasizes the animals’ innate abilities to adjust their mating and breeding rates according to the carrying capacity of their environment. Most scientists present white in the photos.
Will leave readers with a newfound appreciation for these fascinatingly adaptive creatures. (glossary, further information, sources and selected bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780063271470
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
This glossy, colorful title in the “I Want To Be” series has visual appeal but poor organization and a fuzzy focus, which limits its usefulness. Each double-paged layout introduces a new topic with six to eight full-color photographs and a single column of text. Topics include types of environmentalists, eco-issues, waste renewal, education, High School of Environmental Studies, environmental vocabulary, history of environmentalism, famous environmentalists, and the return of the eagle. Often the photographs have little to do with the text or are marginal to the topic. For example, a typical layout called “Some Alternative Solutions” has five snapshots superimposed on a double-page photograph of a California wind farm. The text discusses ways to develop alternative forms of energy and “encourage environmentally friendly lifestyles.” Photos include “a healer who treats a patient with alternative therapy using sound and massage,” and “the Castle,” a house built of “used tires and aluminum cans.” Elsewhere, “Did You Know . . . ” shows a dramatic photo of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, but the text provides odd facts such as “ . . . that in Saudi Arabia there are solar-powered pay phones in the desert?” Some sections seem stuck in, a two-page piece on the effects of “El Niño” or 50 postage-stamp–sized photos of endangered species. The author concludes with places to write for more information and a list of photo credits. Pretty, but little here to warrant purchase. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-15-201862-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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