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This month, please report on any book in the Scientists in the Field series that you have read.
A few of the titles are as follows:
Crow Smarts: Inside the Brain of the World's Brightest Bird by Pamela S. Turner
Mission to Pluto: The First Visit to an Ice Dwarf and the Kuiper Belt by Mary Kay Carson
Life on Surtsey: Iceland's Upstart Island by Loree Griffin Burns
The Call of the Osprey by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
These books, while illustrated with photos, are longer than the average picture book and are for older elementary and middle school students.

Really enjoyed The Tarantula Scientist. Sy Montgomery presents a thorough yet never too scientifically overwhelming introduction to not only tarantulas but also to arachnids in general, with the bibliography of both websites and books being much appreciated (and with very detailed photographs that do sometimes though feel a bit in my face with their focus on close up details of tarantulas). But I do wish Sy Montgomery had also talked about why tarantula scientist Sam Marshall (and his students) study their tarantulas both on site and in the laboratory, as I am sure there could be questions posed by readers regarding this and its morality.

And in fact and in my opinion, all of the books in the series that I have read to date are also and equally informative enough for not only the target audience of older children from about the age of nine to twelve, but also for teenagers as well as for interested adult readers who might want thorough and basic introductions without too much confusing scientific jargon.

For me, books like Crow Smarts: Inside the Brain of the World's Brightest Bird, Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot, The Octopus Scientists: Exploring the Mind of a Mollusk, Life on Surtsey: Iceland's Upstart Island and Mission to Pluto: The First Visit to an Ice Dwarf and the Kuiper Belt were as interesting and as educational reading them as an older adult as they would have been if I had encountered them as a younger reader.

Manybooks wrote: "And in fact and in my opinion, all of the books in the series that I have read to date are also and equally informative enough for not only the target audience of older children from about the age ..."

I agree.

Beverly wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "And in fact and in my opinion, all of the books in the series that I have read to date are also and equally informative enough for not only the target audience of older children f..."

I wish we had had books like this when I was ten.

Oh, I love this series: /list/show/1...
I recall reading and liking Crow Smarts: Inside the Brain of the World's Brightest Bird and The Elephant Scientist. Also, Backyard Bears: Conservation, Habitat Changes, and the Rise of Urban Wildlife.

The list I posted above may be incomplete. I believe books may be added.

I agree with Many-books that � I wish Sy Montgomery had also talked about why tarantula scientist Sam Marshall (and his students) study their tarantulas both on site and in the laboratory, as I am sure there could be questions posed by readers regarding this and its morality.� In the eco mystery/ eco adventures I write, I weave in how conservationists apply the knowledge gained by scientists in the field to save endangered species. Hopefully this will inspire tween and teen readers to take action.

Beverly wrote: "This month, please report on any book in the Scientists in the Field series that you have read.
A few of the titles are as follows:
[book:Crow Smarts: Inside the Brain of the World's Brightest Bir..."

Great! I'm doing a birds theme for the Picture Book Club so I might be tempted to look at the Crow and Osprey books as a complement to that (since they appear to be aimed at slightly above the PB crowd).

Kathryn, I would also recommend Digging for Bird Dinosaurs: An Expedition to Madagascar. It is textually dense but not really scientifically difficult and can easily be read aloud in manageable chunks (and it also shows in much detail how a dig works, why bird fossils are so rare and what happens post the expedition at Cathy Forster’s lab). Furthermore, I do appreciate how the scientists, how the palaeontologists doing the expedition in Madagascar also strive to help local villagers by providing and raising money to build a school.

But the book is with its 2000 publication date a bit outdated since post then, there have been many more recent fossil discoveries linking birds to theropod dinosaurs (and of course the bibliography will also not be current).

Too much different types of information about Mongolia in general encountered in Sy Montgomery’s Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia, interesting of course, but it does in my opinion kind of bury the main topic of trying to search for and save snow leopards from Mongolia from extinction, making the text of Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia a bit distracting and unfocused. Also, annoyingly little bibliographic materials!

I have thoroughly enjoyed Sy Montgomery’s work, especially since I am the author of an eco adventures fiction series. I haven’t yet read Sy’s Snow Leopards but it appears that she may have been caught in the “information dump� dreaded by narrative writers who need to cull and cut from their extensive research.

Claire wrote: "I have thoroughly enjoyed Sy Montgomery’s work, especially since I am the author of an eco adventures fiction series. I haven’t yet read Sy’s Snow Leopards but it appears that she may have been cau..."

Indeed, there is a huge issue with information dumping in Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia. All of the details are interesting but with the vast amount presented, the actual main topic (the plight of snow leopards) kind of gets a bit lost in the shuffle.

Kathryn,

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot is also a great bird book (and a successful conservation story) and I do recommend it. And if you watch the TV series Last Chance to See (which stars Stephen Fry) there is a really hilarious scene where human imprinted male Kakapo Scirocco is shagging Stephen Fry on the head.

Need to do a bit of extra research for Wild Horse Scientists because I want to know if there are indeed scientists who do not think the feral domestic wild horses of North America as invasive species, which I personally tend to like, but I also know I am biased. More later when I have finished.

A wonderful both book and online resources listing bibliography is the icing on the cake for The Manatee Scientists: The Science of Saving the Vulnerable. It provides detailed information on the three known manatee species (and is thus not just about Florida) and shows that while in Florida and the Caribbean, it is mostly boat traffic and habitat loss threatening manatees, in the Amazon and in the waters off of Africa, hunting is also a concern. Definitely recommended and a four star read for me (but did not find the photographs wowing and would also want some information on the closely related to manatees Dugong).

One of my very favorite juvenile non-fiction series. Great theme. I've read several; I'll see what else I can find.

Eclipse Chaser: Science in the Moon's Shadow by Ilima Loomis

Loomis follows Syrian-born Shadia Habbal as she chases eclipses all around the world in order to study and get images of the sun's corona. This fascinating book focuses on the 2017 total eclipse that crossed the US from the west to the east. Shadia, who now works for the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, arranged for several teams to set up in several of the locations along the eclipse path to take photos of the corona. She and her team set up in the small town of Mitchell, Oregon. The book is illustrated with many captioned photos. In between each chapter are a couple of pages of additional information about the sun, its atmosphere, and its corona. The book concludes with a glossary, index, and short bibliography, A worthy addition to the series.

Wow! That book sounds fascinating. It is so inspiring to know there are more books for readers about the amazing and valuable work scientists are doing, which eclipse the so called ‘science doubters.�

Wild Horse Scientists

To tell the truth, my very much positive personal reaction to author Ky Frydenborg’s statement in her Wild Horse Scientists that the wild (feral) domestic horses of the United States (and of course also elsewhere in North America) should likely NOT really be considered an invasive species because horses first evolved in North America, spread from North America to Asia, Europe etc. via the land-bridge that used to, that periodically linked Asia to North America and then might well have been hunted to extinction in North America by the first humans to inhabit, to settle there should probably also be taken with a major grain of proverbial salt.

Because for one, I rather know and realise that as a major horse enthusiast, I do have huge issues even considering and accepting the possibility that horses, that one of my favourite animals could be seen and approached as an ecological nightmare, could be deemed an invasive species in the so-called New World (in the USA, Canada and Mexico). And for two, the above mentioned author claim that since horses had their beginnings in North America, because they first appeared and evolved from hyracotherium to the modern horse in North America (and probably became extinct there due to over hunting by us, by humans) that today’s wild horses in the American Rockies, on Assateaque Island etc. (even though they are all descendants of domestic horses imported by in particular Spanish settlers) should thus not be considered invasive, but rather as a native species of the past which has basically returned to its former home, well, albeit that Frydenburg’s assertion in Wild Horse Scientists is something which is very much personally appealing, it is also true that this has in fact not really been universally accepted, that there are actually still a rather goodly number of equine scientists who do (from a historical perspective) actually approach the wild feral horses of North America as being non native (now) and thus of course invasive and non endemic.

Furthermore, even if one were to in fact approach North American wild equines as being a non invasive, a native species, Kay Frydenborg’s text in Wild Horse Scientists also clearly shows that due to the fact that horses tend to be pretty fecund (fertile) and that a fully grown North American mustang or Assateaque horse now has very few natural predators, it is also and unfortunately true that the feral horses of North America do tend to be very rough on their environment, are often overly populating their natural ranges and last but not least, wild horses (and especially Western USA mustangs) often do cause major damage and problems for ranchers and their livestock.

And most definitely, for wildlife control authorities and as Frydenborg’s presented text describes in Wild Horse Scientists to now use a specially developed equine birth control vaccine (which is darted into mares) to try to lower wild horse populations, to keep horses from reproducing exponentially, in my humble opinion (and as a horse lover), this is of course much more humane and acceptable than shooting horses, than rounding up horses to transport them to slaughterhouses and yes even than capturing certain “desired� young horses and then gentling them, selling them for riding. But indeed, I do wonder if Kay Frydenborg’s claim that there is no more mass slaughtering of horses in the United States is actually the whole and entire truth, as often, if horses are no longer allowed to be slaughtered locally, they are still allowed to be transported and often in infuriatingly horrible conditions via both road and air traffic to countries, to areas where the slaughter run masse slaughter of horses and the consumption of horse meat is considered both acceptable and a cultural food tradition (and this is sadly the state of affairs in Canada and I am of course curious whether it is the same south of the border, but no, Kay Frydenborg does not ever in Wild Horse Scientists textually tackle this, which I do personally rather find a bit of an oversight).

But first and foremost and with regard to the combination, the marriageof the author’s, of Kay Frydenborg’s text and the accompanying photographs (which truly are a visual treat and an aesthetic personal delight), Wild Horse Scientists provides not only a throughly detailed but also and equally a never too verbally taxing introduction to horses (and ponies) in general, with much information and educationally, engagingly presented equine specific facts and figures, and also and happily a very solid bibliography that lists both books and online sources (for older children from about the age of nine onwards, but of course Wild Horse Scientists is also something for interested teenagers and adults to consider for perusal). And of course and in my opinion, with Wild Horse Scientists Kay Frydenborg has also provided me (us) with a very much cheering and massively uplifting reading experience, for yes, I have most definitely found it very much an absolute and total reading joy to encounter in Wild Horse Scientists how wild equines in the United States are being controlled through birth control measures instead of killing, instead of slaughtering.

Claire wrote: "Wow! That book sounds fascinating. It is so inspiring to know there are more books for readers about the amazing and valuable work scientists are doing, which eclipse the so called ‘science doubters.�"

Yes, the book was fascinating. I'm not sure what you mean by a "science doubter." I don't know of any scientists who do not believe that eclipses happen or do not believe that the sun's corona can be studied during an eclipse.

Call of the Osprey by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

I read this book back in 2015, so I did not re-read it, but I looked through the photos and organization of the book again. This is a really fabulous study of the fish-eating osprey. In fact, this book hooked me on watching Cornell University's various bird cams, beginning with Iris, the osprey. I have also enjoyed watching the Savannah, Georgia osprey nest and chicks. I did not know that raptors do not regurgitate food for their chicks. Instead, they bring prey to the nest, tear pieces of it off, and feed it to the chicks, beak to beak. This book is packed with information about the Montana ospreys, with photos, sidebars, maps, etc. There is an entire chapter of spying on the ospreys with photos from the webcam. There is also ample info about the scientists studying the birds. The book concludes with a list of sources, a glossary, and an index.

The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands

Wonderfully educational and informative and with a message that is both encouraging and also rather necessarily a trifle sobering and thought provoking, I absolutely and truly have both enjoyed reading Sneed B. Collard III’s 2005 The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands and have equally appreciated the biological and ecological information I have learned (from how fire is often necessary to reclaim and restore tall grass prairies to the fact that originally European settlers actually thought that the Midwestern prairies were useless for agriculture, but that sadly, this attitude soon changed to one of actively and all encompassingly destroying the American grasslands and turning them for the most part into sterile and devoid of biodiversity farmland). With an optimistic perspective and proof of success depicted in the represented details of The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands (regarding Pauline Drobney’s reconstruction of out of commission Iowa farmland to create the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge and Diane Debinski striving to reintroduce the Regal Fritillary butterfly into its former prairie habitat) this is mostly a story of hope and perseverance, but also with the necessary caveats provided by author Sneed B. Collard III (speaking for the two biologists, speaking for Pauline Drobney and Diane Debinski) that the American (and Canadian) Midwestern prairies, that the grasslands will of course never be able to be entirely reconstructed (as there is just too much agriculture, too much farming for this) but that every little bit of reclaimed prairie is both a very positive thing and also a way to protect and to increase biodiversity and to make farming and even on a larger scale more environmentally cautious and responsible. And yes, an important environmental and conservation lesson is featured in The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands, with Sneed B. Collard III showing his readers, showing his intended audience of older children from about the age of nine onwards with a clear narrative and visually stunning accompanying photographs that even though the pre-settlement and pre large scale agriculture expansive former glory of the North American grasslands will likely never be totally reclaimed, there are indeed many ways and means to at least reconstruct some of this, a reason for celebration albeit with some caveats (and of course with the included bibliography of both books and online resources providing for me the icing on the cake and to mostly definitely and without reservations warmly recommend The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands).

I have a few more of these out from the library, in addition to the ones I've already loved, that I will read and report on soonish.

I will def. try to find Eclipse Chaser, as I have never thought about what needs to be learned by studying eclipses. Well, except for solar flares that can disrupt our communications grids... I know not nearly enough about that issue, I'm sure.

Cheryl wrote: "I have a few more of these out from the library, in addition to the ones I've already loved, that I will read and report on soonish.

I will def. try to find Eclipse Chaser, as I have never thought..."

I really do recommend The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands. It is hopeful but also sobering.

So yes, I would definitely recommend The Mysterious Universe: Supernovae, Dark Energy, and Black Holes for its wonderful bibliography and glossary (with the caveat that the book was published in 2008). But the actual text itself, I personally have found it so textually dragging and boring that I ended up skimming through much of Ellen Jackson’s words.

Definitely am enjoying this series considerably more than Seymour Simon, and mostly because for him including a bibliography was often rather the exception, but in this series, the rule.

(If anyone is interested in more about the Prairie Builders, there's an absolutely delightful photography & education blog that I follow called The Prairie Ecologist.)

Cheryl wrote: "(If anyone is interested in more about the Prairie Builders, there's an absolutely delightful photography & education blog that I follow called The Prairie Ecologist.)"

That sounds cool! Thanks ...

When I look at these books, I sure do get a bit envious and think that today’s children both at home and at school are fortunate to have access to books like the Scientists in the Field series. I would have loved this when I was in elementary and Junior High (Middle School) but we mostly had dry textbooks and our teachers lecturing.

The Snake Scientist

Although I do not believe that I am ever going to even remotely be considering snakes as favourite animals (and that I do still seem to have the annoying tendency to assume that serpents are somehow slippery and slimy to the touch, even though I full well know that this is actually not AT ALL the case), I definitely do very much appreciate that with her 2001 illustrated science tome The Snake Scientist Sy Montgomery presents not only a very decent introduction to snakes in general but also tries to textually demonstrate to her intended audience that serpents are actually pretty much amazing creatures (with interesting physiologies and such novel, such intriguing traits and abilities like hearing with their tongues and being incredibly sensitive to even the smallest of vibrations), are not really to be categorically feared (not inherently dangerous) and also of course that snakes act very much as important, as necessary spokes in many ecosystems, as they certainly do tend to keep in particular rodent and rabbit populations under control and manageable (and yes, I do really love it that Sy Montgomery’s text, that Snake Scientist repeatedly points out that one should always approach serpents with respect and not to ever attempt to harass or tease them).

And while in my humble and aesthetic opinion, some of Nic Bishop’s accompanying colour photographs visually appear just a trifle creepy (and in particular the pictures of thousands of garter snakes writhing around, attempting to mate) and albeit that I do consider Bob Mason’s work as a so-called snake scientist as interesting and important, but not something that would in fact personally intrigue and appeal to me enough to consider trying his type of of a job for myself, yes, I do think that Sy Montgomery has penned a nicely informative textual representation of serpents with The Snake Scientist, suitable for children from about the age of eight onwards but also to be considered for interested teenagers and adults who might want to know more about snakes but without the textual density and problematic overwhelmingness that often is part and parcel to too much scientific jargon (and which fortunately and appreciatively Sy Montgomery mostly refrains from textually utilising in Snake Scientist).

Now finally, with regard to supplemental teaching and learning information, although Sy Montgomery does provide at the end of The Snake Scientist a few book titles as suggestions for further reading (and that this is indeed better than there not being any bibliography whatsoever), I do wish that for one there were more than just four titles featured and for two that Montgomery would also feature both books and websites (and yes, that The Snake Scientist does not present any online resources at all is the main reason why my rating is four and not five stars).

The Whale Scientists: Solving the Mystery of Whale Strandings

Now I do tend to be pretty stingy with regard to my five star ratings, and indeed, in particular with non fiction tomes geared towards younger readers, I will usually find something which even with books I highly recommend will make me consider four and sometimes even only three stars (and with the usual culprits being a lack of a bibliography or with omissions that I personally and intellectually consider problematic information oversights). And with Fran Wilkins� 2007 The Whale Scientists: Solving the Mystery of Whale Strandings, it is precisely the fact that for one , Wilkins has included a not only appreciated but also a sufficiently lengthy and detailed list of suggestions for further reading (a bibliography listing both books and online sources and also including the author’s personal communication with the whale scientists featured and presented) and that for two, she equally has included a short but informative section on both cetacean evolution and on whaling (not to mention that Fran Wilkins for me both appreciatively names and shames countries like Japan that are still commercially whaling) which does bring my star ranking to a solid and deserved five stars.

For while The Whale Scientists: Solving the Mystery of Whale Strandings and the details about whales stranding themselves and how scientists are trying to solve the reasons as to why and how to prevent this (or at least the human caused reasons why, and in particular issues with different types of ocean pollution, including noise pollution) are most certainly educational and interesting, it is for me as mentioned above the information about the evolution of whales, that author Fran Wilkins does not shy away from being totally condemning regarding any and all commercial whaling and that the included bibliographic materials are absolutely outstanding which truly provides the icing on the cake and renders The Whale Scientists: Solving the Mystery of Whale Strandings very much and most highly recommended not only for intended audience of older children above the age of nine or so, but in fact also for interested adults who might want a basic introduction to whales and the science, the reasons for whale strandings but without textual convolutedness, a delightfully educational but at the same time also thought provoking text, where both Fran Wilkins and the whale scientists she features make readers both think and to realise that whales both need and deserve our protection and our help (and where the many colour photographs provide a very decent aesthetic accompaniment to the author’s printed words).

I found three books in this series that were new to me. But I'm not actually all that interested to read them carefully, so will give quick impressions of what I get from skimming them.

The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity has very small text font so I'm def. not reading that. But the photos, section titles, etc. are wonderful. One caption threw me - a reference to hematite-containing blueberries. No, that's not a typo. They named these kinds of blueish rocks blueberries. But there's a problem - neither in index nor in glossary in the book was there mention of blueberries... I had to google for information. Bad mistake, imo. But anybody with younger eyes and more interest should read this book.

Cheryl wrote: "I found three books in this series that were new to me. But I'm not actually all that interested to read them carefully, so will give quick impressions of what I get from skimming them.

[book:The..."

Definitely going to not bother, as my eyes are also getting worse and small fonts I tend to actively avoid.

Once A Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought to Bring Back the Gray Wolf

Well and indeed, the information presented by author Stephen R. Swinburne in his 2001 Once A Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought to Bring Back the Gray Wolf is educational, fascinating, often heartbreaking (regarding the gray wolf and how its undeservedly nasty reputation both in Europe and elsewhere has led to it becoming almost extinct in many countries, in many areas) and at the same time also a huge and powerful conservation success story. But definitely, although Once A Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought to Bring Back the Gray Wolf shows how gray wolves have been successfully reintroduced in particular in Yellowstone Park, Stephen R. Swinburne’s text is unfortunately and sadly often also an infuriating and anger inducing account (regarding the relentless and often vicious battles with regard to bringing back gray wolves from extirpation that wildlife biologists generally had to fight with both obstinate and often rabidly hate-filled ranchers and their influential and well moneyed political lobbyists). So yes, I do absolutely say kudos to the fact that Swinburne does not try to make excuses for ranchers and also even personally identifies and shames individuals who have harassed and killed reintroduced wolves within the pages of Once A Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought to Bring Back the Gray Wolf as this is definitely needed a d there should NOT be any excuses made for individuals (for ranchers etc.) who still see wolves as vermin to be destroyed and for those trigger happy monstrosities who still think that stalking and killing wolves is or should be acceptable.

So yes, five shining stars for Once A Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought to Bring Back the Gray Wolf for Stephen A. Swinburne’s engaging, enlightening and no nonsense text and with Jim Nrandenburg’s visually stunning accompanying photographs and the detailed both book titles and websites providing the icing on the cake (but with the small but necessary caveat that some of the photographs of dead wolves slaughtered by uneducated and trigger happy “hunters� perhaps being a bit rough for sensitive readers or listeners if Once A Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought to Bring Back the Gray Wolf is being read aloud).

Cheryl wrote: "I found three books in this series that were new to me. But I'm not actually all that interested to read them carefully, so will give quick impressions of what I get from skimming them.

[book:The..."

Did you read this as a Kindle or a traditional book? Asking because often, Kindle editions often have really small fonts.

So another reason that I am liking this series rather more than the books by Seymour Simon we read last month is that many of the Scientists in the Field authors are more than willing to call out and be critical of environmental destruction and horrid practices like commercial whaling while Seymour Simon seems very hesitant to rock the proverbial boat too much.

Once a Wolf
I read this back in 2012, and while I really enjoyed all the fascinating information given in the book and the photos, I wished the author would update his book, with updated statistics. I wish it even more now, since it is more than 20 years since he wrote the book.

My 6yo and I are halfway through Crow Smarts, and while I admit it’s fascinating, the pictures of the grubs and pupae are so nasty.

Beverly wrote: "Once a Wolf
I read this back in 2012, and while I really enjoyed all the fascinating information given in the book and the photos, I wished the author would update his book, with updated statistics..."

I guess quite a lot of these books do kind of need updating.

By the way, with Once A Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought to Bring Back the Gray Wolf, there are necessary but disturbing details about wolves being callously killed just for being wolves and also three photographs of dead wolves, just a caveat, if parents are considering this book for sensitive children.

Cheryl wrote: "The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity"

My eight-year-old and I absolutely loved this! I checked it out a few months ago when we were really into space with Perseverance etc. -- I just got it based on the catalog description and hadn't realized how dense it would be. I thought maybe my son would still like to look at the pictures and some captions. Well, he wanted me to read the whole thing! We did it as a read-aloud and I have to say I was really drawn in, too. I wondered if he would lose interest as it went along but he just wanted me to keep going and I think would have gone through it all in one sitting if my voice hadn't needed a rest ;-) It really wrapped us up in all the excitement and ups and downs of the rovers' journeys (I even got a little choked up at the end!) Although I'd of course heard of Spirit and Opportunity years ago, I learned so much. I'm sorry the text was too small for you to read :-(

I'm really eager to read more of these books though I don't know that I'll get to many this month. Science Warriors: The Battle Against Invasive Species and The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands look especially interesting to me as my husband is an environmental biologists and we know all too well the troubles that invasive species and destruction of native habitat can cause. I'm also curious about The Orca Scientists as I have a heightened interest in these amazing creatures after reading A Whale of the Wild last month.

Manybooks wrote: "Kathryn,

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot is also a great bird book (and a successful conservation story) and I do recommend it. And if you watch the TV series Las..."

Thank you! I'm going to try to get this one and Digging for Bird Dinosaurs: An Expedition to Madagascar. I noticed there is also Condor Comeback which also look excellent. I'll try to get through them all but it will be awhile as they are too dense for my youngest and won't work for our family read-alouds so it'll take me a bit more time to get through on my own or (hopefully) with my oldest.

Kathryn wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "Kathryn,

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot is also a great bird book (and a successful conservation story) and I do recommend it. And if you watch..."

I can see these being a bit too textually dense for your youngest.

Manybooks wrote: "I can see these being a bit too textually dense for your youngest."

Yes. The few I've seen seem more geared to upper elementary or even middle school. But, I can always share photos and modify info to share with my five-year-old ;-)

By the way, the website for the series looks great:

There are Resources, including Discussion and Activity Guides, as well as Videos, Meet the Authors (with further "Notes" by the authors) and more! :-)

Kathryn wrote: "By the way, the website for the series looks great:

There are Resources, including Discussion and Activity Guides, as well as Videos, Meet the Authors (..."

That’s great, especially for teachers, parents and independent research.

Kathryn wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "I can see these being a bit too textually dense for your youngest."

Yes. The few I've seen seem more geared to upper elementary or even middle school. But, I can always share pho..."

He might well enjoy the photographs and if you modify and abridge the written text, I think many of these books would also work for him and especially if he is already sufficiently interested.

Kathryn wrote: "I noticed there is also Condor Comeback which also looks excellent...."

Condor Comeback is an excellent book. Here is my review:
Montgomery tags along with scientists as they observe California condors in the wild. They observe in a couple of ways: they hike out close to where condors nest and view them through a telescope; or they watch the nests, in which cameras have been placed, on computer monitors. A lot of information on condors is shared, including how scientists have worked to increase their numbers, what they do to help the population grow, and how they educate the public about condors. The book concludes with a list of ways people can help, a bibliography, a list of websites, and an index. Excellent book about this bird species.

In addition, I have watched the California condor mom and chick on the Cornell Bird Cam--very interesting.

Beverly wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "I noticed there is also Condor Comeback which also look excellent...."

Condor Comeback is an excellent book. Here is my review:
Montgomery tags along with scientist..."

Is that one of the main reasons why the condors are so endangered the use of pesticides like DDT prominently mentioned?