Synopses & Reviews
On remote Codfish Island off the southern coast of New Zealand live the last ninety-one kakapo parrots on earth. These trusting, flightless, and beautiful birdsand#8212;the largest and most unusual parrots on earthand#8212;have suffered devastating population loss.
Now, on an island refuge with the last of the species, New Zealandand#8217;s National Kakapo Recovery Team is working to restore the kakapo population. With the help of fourteen humans who share a single hut and a passion for saving these odd ground-dwelling birds, the kakapo are making a comeback in New Zealand.
Follow intrepid animal lovers Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop on a ten-day excursion to witness the exciting events in the life of the kakapo.
Review
"[This] handsomely designed volume displays the joys of being fascinated by one's work.and#8221; 6/1-615/2008 Booklist, ALA
and#8220;Thoughtful design adds to the pleasure of this splendid invitation to explore darker corners of the universe." 5/1/08 Kirkus Reviews, Starred
"[A] sense of adventure that readers will feel as they join a team of researchers on science's biggest frontier." School Library Journal
Review
"Throughout the presentation, readers learn about the anatomy, development, and social behavior of honey bees, and observe the process of scientific investigation and its vital, real-world application. Appended are lists of recommended books, magazines, films, Web sites as well as a glossary and a source bibliography. A fascinating book from the Scientists in the Field series."and#8212;Booklist, starred review
"Not long after beekeepers encountered a devastating new problem in their hives in 2006, a team of bee scientists began working to discover the causes of colony collapse disorder (CCD), now attributed to a combination of factors possibly including pesticides, nutrition, mites and viruses...Harasimowicz's clear, beautifully reproduced photographs support and extend the text."and#8212;Kirkus, starred review
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Review
"Under the careful supervision of forest rangers and volunteers on an island off the New Zealand coast, the nearly extinct, flightless Kakapo parrot is the object of an intensive rescue effort described by this experienced writer-photographer team...As always, theand#160;photographer's remarkable and clearly reproduced photographs support and enhance the text. The book's careful design is unobtrusive: The progress of an opening egg sets off page numbers, and fern patterns provide a subtle decoration. Bibliography and a website encourageand#160;readers' further explorations. Wonderful."and#8212;
Kirkus, starred review"Montgomeryand#8217;s delight in her subject is contagious, and throughout her enthusiastic text, she nimbly blends scientific and historical facts with immediate, sensory descriptions of fieldwork. Young readers will be fascinated."and#8212;Booklist, starred review "Take a parrot. Color it green. Give it soft, fluffy feathers, and whiskers. Give it sumo proportions and take away its power of flight. Make it nocturnal, and have it nest underground. Aha! A kakapo!...Excellent photos and a readable, conversational text provide an intimate look at a concerted effort to save a drastically endangered species unfamiliar to most of the world outside Down Under. Readers who enjoyed this author/photographer teamand#8217;s The Tarantula Scientist (2007) or Quest for the Tree Kangaroo (2006, both Houghton) will gobble up this tribute to ecological science in action." and#8212;School Library Journal, starred review
"More than most books about environmentalism or endangered species, this will encourage kids to consider how hands-on action can genuinely make a difference and how scientific contributions can be made by people who never go near a test tube."and#8212;The Bulletin, starred review
Synopsis
Along the Bay of Bengal, between the countries of India and Bangladesh, stretches a strange and beautiful landscapeand#151;part ocean, part river, part forest. This is the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, and it is home to more tigers than anywhere else on the earth. Nowhere else do tigers live in a mangrove swamp. Nowhere else do healthy tigers routinely hunt people. Yet about three hundred people a year are killed by the tigers of the Sundarbans. And no one knows why.
Synopsis
The universe is rapidly expanding. Of that much scientists are certain. But how fast? And with what implications regarding the fate of the universe?
Ellen Jackson and Nic Bishop follow Dr. Alex Fillippenko and his High-Z Supernova Search Team to Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, where they will study space phenomena and look for supernovae, dying stars that explode with the power of billions of hydrogen bombs. Dr. Fillippenko looks for black holes--areas in space with such a strong gravitational pull that no matter or energy can escape from them--with his robotic telescope. And they study the effects of dark energy, the mysterious force that scientists believe is pushing the universe apart, causing its constant and accelerating expansion.
Synopsis
In this captivating Scientists in the Field entry, follow scientists as they scan the vast Alaskan wilderness for polar bearsand#8212;the amazing creatures that have become the face of global warmingand#8212;but encounter more water and less ice than theyand#8217;ve ever seen before.
Synopsis
It is springtime in Alaska, and the U.S. Geological Survey team is gearing up for polar bear capturing. The scientists locate bears from a helicopter, tranquilize them, give them tattoo ID numbers and tags, and collect data such as height, weight, and body fat measurements and samples such as blood, hair, feces, and even teeth. For more than fortyand#160;years, scientists have been capturing bears in order to get information. What has this information been telling scientistsand#160;about polar bears and our changing global climate? Find out in this fascinating entry in the Scientists in the Fieldand#160;series!and#160;
Synopsis
THE HIVE DETECTIVES will be a science book for middle-grade readers in the Scientists in the Field series.and#160;Pulled straight from todayand#8217;s headlines: the disappearance of Americaand#8217;s honey bees.
Synopsis
and#8220;A fascinating book.and#8221; --Booklist
Without honey bees, the world would be a different place. There would be no honey, no beeswax for candles, and,and#160;worst of all, barely a fruit, nut, or vegetable to eat.and#160;So imagine the beekeeper Dave Hackenburgand#8217;s horror when he discovered twenty million of his charges had vanished. In The Hive Detectives, Loree Griffin Burns profiles bee wranglers and bee scientists who have been working to understand colony collapse disorder, or CCD. In this dramatic and enlightening story, readers explore the lives of the fuzzy, buzzy insects and learn what might happen to us if they were gone.
Synopsis
KAKAPO RESCUEand#160;gives young readers a first hand account of the efforts to save one of the worldand#39;s rarest and more unusual birds, the kakapo. Part of the Scientist in the Field series.
About the Author
Sy Montgomery is an author,andnbsp;naturalist, newspaper columnist,andnbsp;scriptwriter, and radio commentator who writes award-winning books for children as well as adults. She lives in Hancock, New Hampshire.andnbsp;Visit her website at symontgomery.com. andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Syandnbsp;Montgomery and photographer Nic Bishop won theandnbsp;Sibert Medal in 2011andnbsp;for their collaborative work on Kakapo Rescue:andnbsp;Saving the World's Strangest Parrot,andnbsp;another Scientist in the Field title.andnbsp;andnbsp;