WILD SCIENCE

With a beguiling mix of outdoorsy adventure and glimpses of science in the field, Miles takes young naturalists from frozen wastes in Nunavut to a beach in Costa Rica, profiling in parallel ten modern wildlife biologists and the animals they’re studying. Those animals range from a bat and a beached blue whale to a rare leatherback turtle and far rarer Vancouver Island Marmot. Sandwiched between scene-setting introductions and basic facts about each creature, the scientists explain how they came to their profession and particular areas of interest. Miles adds descriptions of the special techniques and instruments used in animal tracking, study, rescue, and preservation. Like the equally outstanding Scientists in the Field series, this should be required reading for children with an active interest in understanding the natural world and our place in it. (photos, bibliography, Web resources) (Nonfiction. 10-12)