Good news about a marine marvel.
Manta rays become the stars of successful conservation work.
Newman spotlights Peruvian marine scientist Kerstin Forsberg, who was struck by the number of turtles turning up dead or injured after they became tangled in fishing nets. Sea turtles are a crucial part of the ecosystem—something that many didn’t realize. Eager to spread awareness among young people, in 2009 she helped create the Marine Educators Network of Northern Perú. When another scientist, Andrea Marshall, needed help tracking down a lost tag that had been attached to a manta ray swimming in the waters near northern Peru, Forsberg stepped in to assist. She soon realized the rays could be a compelling way to encourage interest in ocean conservation—and to empower locals to take “starring roles” when it came to activism. Her organization, Planeta Océano, led expeditions where people could swim with the gentle giants, organized classroom lessons and community-wide celebrations of the rays, and asked fishers to let them know when they spotted mantas. Forsberg worked with fishers to help them avoid manta bycatch and drafted a national protection policy, which was eventually passed. Newman ably explains the concept of flagship species—animals that “grab people’s attention and make them care about protecting the environment.” Her feel-good account includes photos and quotations from local fishers and young people, as well as plenty of information about the rays themselves.
Good news about a marine marvel. (timeline, author’s note, note from Forsberg, glossary, source notes, selected bibliography, further reading and websites, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9798765607992
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
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
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