Edison, Erin. Jane Goodall.

Edison, Erin.  Jane Goodall.  Capstone Publishers    2013  24p   ISBN 978-1-4765-0143-7  series: Great Women In History        elem  Hardback   VG-Bnes  Biography     

This is a brief biography of Jane Goodall.  The reader is introduced to Jane as a baby and a young girl.  As a young woman she went to Africa and met Dr. Louis Leakey and began her work with chimpanzees.  The text tells about how she worked and what she has accomplished, taking the reader up to current times.  At the bottom of each page there is a developing time line of the major events in her life.  This is very helpful for reviewing what has been read and understanding the passage of time.

The photographs clearly help young readers understand the text.  Subject-specific vocabulary is introduced and defined in the glossary.  The publisher notes that early readers will need assistance with some of the words and with using the table of contents, glossary, index and list of internet sites.    The series Great Women in History includes biographies on Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman, Jane Goodall, Pocahantas, Rosa parks, and Susan B. Anthony.  The simple text and clear photographs are perfect for early elementary children in grades K-2.   

Summary: A brief introductory biography of Jane Goodall.  It highlights how she got into her life work, some of what she accomplished, and her legacy.  Early elementary grades.    

Jane Goodall                                                      --Joan Theal

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