Ottaviani, Jim, and Maris Wicks. Primates.

Ottaviani, Jim, and Maris Wicks.  Primates.     Macmillan/First Second  2013  133p  ISBN 978-1-59643-865-1  elem/ms  Hardback  E-BN  Graphic nonfiction

This graphic novel introduces readers to the biographies and research of primate scientists Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall, and Birute Galdikas, as well as the person who connected them, Louis Leakey.  The book would be an excellent way to pique interest in the lady scientists as well as in primate study.  The art work will appeal to young readers, evoking the difficult living conditions in the jungles and the methods of conducting research on site.  The text floats between third-person and first-person voice, but it is not distracting once the visual clues of color and font are intuitively sensed.  The text reveals the motivation of those who want to spend their lives in isolation and in the native habitat of primates.  There are many facts mentioned about the differences among chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.  The controversy over ecotourism and poaching is also mentioned.  The lack of academic course-work in biology and ethology was not a factor in Leakey’s choices of researchers, and this was to be commended, as was his willingness to support female researchers in the field. While some of the scenes may be fictional, as mentioned by the author in the afterword, the core of this story is factual and will encourage young readers to learn more about the three famous women scientists as well as their benefactor, Leakey.          

Primates is strongly recommended for upper-elementary through high-school book collections.  This graphic non-fiction book will also pull in the non-scientifically-minded reader, who will learn many facts about primates in their native habitat and the scientists who study them.     

Summary: This graphic novel introduces readers to the biographies and research of primate scientists Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall, and Birute Galdikas, as well as the person who connected them, Louis Leakey.  The book would be an excellent way to pique interest in the lady scientists as well as in primate study. Gr 4+     

Primate study, Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall, Birute Galdikas   --Lois McNicol