Montgomery, Sy. The Great White Shark Scientist.

Montgomery, Sy.  The Great White Shark Scientist.  Houghton Mifflin/ Harcourt

Brace  2016    70p      $17.99  ISBN 978-0-544-35298-8     ms/hs  Series: Scientists In the Field.  Nonfiction  E-BNS                  

Sharks, especially the great white, have fascinated humans for decades.  In this wonderful new addition to the Scientists in the Field series, the author describes the work of a group of scientists working off the Cape Cod coast who are studying them.  The group, led by Dr. Greg Skomal, is involved in locating, identifying, filming, and tracking these huge fish.   Their enthusiasm is boundless when they discover a new great white shark or find the pings of an old “friend”, and they draw their readers into the ocean with them.
         

 Montgomery’s writing is, as always, animated and inspiring.   Presented in an engaging manner, the title offers a travelogue of her expeditions to both Cape Cod and Guadalupe Island off the Mexican coast.  It is filled with unique stories about the sharks and the natural world that she finds, and is greatly enhanced by the outstanding color photographs that showcase the sharks along with the environmental and zoological aspects of the region.  The book ends with a series of extras:  unique facts and statistics about the sharks, shark maps and sharks by the number, a bibliography for further reading, and an index.
           

This exemplary series includes various outstanding titles about scientists who work in the natural world and make the study of science and nature very accessible and interesting to budding naturalists.  These books offer an incredible look into hidden worlds at the frontiers of human knowledge.  The text is clearly written and the awesome photographs are carefully presented and enhance the text.  This book should be a required purchase for all libraries.  It is sure to be  a winner, great for browsing as well as for research.

                       

Summary: Sharks, especially the great white, have fascinated humans for decades.  In this wonderful new addition to the Scientists in the Field series, the author describes the work of scientists off Cape Cod who are studying them. 

Great White Sharks                                                                                                     --Susan Ogintz

Montgomery, Sy. The Tapir Scientist.

Montgomery, Sy.  The Tapir Scientist.  Houghton Mifflin     2013  80p   $18.99   ISBN 978-0-547-81548-0  series: Scientists In the Field #8  ms/hs Nonfiction

E-BNs      

Tapirs, according to Brazilian naturalist Patricia Medici, are the “gardeners of the forest” and responsible for planting fruit seeds (complete with fertilizer) throughout the world’s largest freshwater wetland.  In this fascinating book, naturalist Sy Montgomery takes the reader on a trip to the Pantanal with a group of tapir scientists.  The reader is invited to accompany the author and her guides in their search for this elusive animal, encountering different species of plants and animals as well in their quest.  The difficulty of the hunt for the elusive tapirs, including the heat, the insects, and the predators, are vividly described in a daily account.  Through a series of mini-biographies, the author introduces the reader to the scientists and researchers who have been studying the tapirs.  The author writes in an engaging manner and offers a travelogue of her expedition to the Pantanal.  It is filled with unique stories about the tapirs, the dedicated scientists, and the natural world that she finds there.  The book is greatly enhanced by Nic Bishop’s outstanding color photographs showcasing the environmental and zoological aspects of the region.  It ends with a bibliography for further reading, web-site links, and an index.    

Summary: In this fascinating book, naturalist Sy Montgomery takes the reader on a trip to the Pantanal with a group of tapir scientists.  Tapirs    

Tapirs                                                            --Susan Ogintz

Montgomery, Sy. Temple Grandin.

Montgomery, Sy.   Temple Grandin.   Houghton Mifflin  148p  $17.99      978-0-547-44315-7 ms/hs       VG    Biography  

The topic is Temple Grandin, world-renowned lecturer, teacher and advocate for the humane treatment of animals.  The book presents Grandin’s struggles to overcome the symptoms of autism and the steps she took to gain the respect of her colleagues, as well as of others who cope with her condition.  Sy Montgomery is undoubtedly a good writer.  Her comprehensive research combines with her drive to portray Temple Grandin as accurately as possible, and she has produced a very good biography for a younger audience.  After completing this book, readers will understand the struggles of autism, the steps that were taken by Temple’s mother to help her daughter live in a “normal” world, and the unique drive that Grandin possesses to this day.  Grandin is well known the world of animal science.  Based on her studies of animal behavior, she designed equipment to make the handling of cattle and other creatures more humane.  In fact, half of the cattle in the U. S. and Canada are handled by her inventions.  The special qualities of this book include the smooth-flowing narrative style combined with impeccable organization, the supporting photographs, and the appendix, which includes Temple’s advice for children with autism.   Charts portray the intricacies of Temple’s designs, as well as the unusual talent that she possesses for detail!  After every few chapters, Montgomery adds a section that enhances the reader’s understanding of autism or adds anecdotal information to her writing.  For someone with prior knowledge of Temple, or for someone who has seen the movie on HBO about her life, there is little that is new.  But for a younger audience with no prior knowledge, this book will instruct children in a topic that needs to be shared due to the prevalence of autism, the quest to understand it, and the thirst for hope.  This book is a good choice for a middle-school library.  Upper-elementary school children will also appreciate the information.  A healthy lifestyle teacher will find information for teaching about autism as well!                                                                                    -- Martha Squaresky

Montgomery,Sy Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot

Montgomery,Sy Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot
Houghton Mifflin/Clarion/Graphia/Kingfisher 2010 74p 18.00
978-0-618-49417-0 ms E-BNS
Scientists In the Field (HM)#8
In this newest addition to the superb series Scientists in the Field, naturalist Sy Montgomery and photographer Nic Bishop take their readers on a trip through the windswept environment of New Zealand’s Codfish Island in search of the giant flightless kakapo. New Zealand had separated from Gondwanaland before the rise of mammals and had been home to the largest collection of flightless birds in the world. Ever-increasing threats from imported and opportunistic predators has reduced the numbers of these birds to a mere handful, especially the kakapo. Weighing in at eight pounds or more, these night-active parrots now number less than one hundred and have been evacuated from the New Zealand main islands to a remote one off the southern coast. Written in an engaging manner and beautifully presented, the author offers a travelogue of her expedition to this uninhabited island with the National Kakapo Recovery Team and their nest-minders. The book is filled with unique stories about the “winged weirdos” and their natural world and is greatly enhanced by outstanding color photographs that show the environmental and zoological aspects of the region. The descriptions of the search for the parrots and the discovery and collection of their signs and signals are sure to entrance the reader and add immediacy to the search. The book contains a series of extras: sidebar fact boxes, how to conserve the kakapo by supporting the Recovery Progamme, unique facts and statistics about the region, descriptions of some of the more unusual animals of the area, maps, and an index. This is a highly recommended purchase for all libraries. It is sure to be a winner and wonderful for browsing as well as for research. Ogintz, Susan Kakapo, Parrots

Montgomery, Sy. Saving the Ghost of the Mountain.

Montgomery, Sy. Saving the Ghost of the Mountain.
Houghton Mifflin/Clarion/Graphia/Kingfisher 2009 74p 18.00
978-0618916450 ms/hs Scientists In the Field series
In this newest addition to the superb series Scientists in the Field, naturalist Sy Montgomery and photographer Nic Bishop take their readers on a trip through the harsh environment of Mongolia’s Altai Mountains and Gobi Desert with Tom McCarthy, conservation director of the Snow Leopard Trust and his team, in search of the elusive snow leopard. In this newest addition to the superb series Scientists in the Field, naturalist Sy Montgomery and photographer Nic Bishop take their reader on a trip through the harsh environment of Mongolia’s Altai Mountains and Gobi Desert in search of the elusive snow leopard with Tom McCarthy, conservation director of the Snow Leopard Trust and his team. Written in an engaging manner and beautifully presented, the author offers a travelogue of her three-week expedition to the wild lands of Asia with all of the attendant dangers found in the harsh climate, mountain climbing, and living in the manner of the local people. It is filled with unique stories about the “ghosts of the mountain” and their natural world and is greatly enhanced by outstanding color photographs that show the environmental and zoological aspects of the region although the big cat photographs are taken in a zoo. Even though the group didn’t sight any snow leopards, the descriptions of the search for them and the discovery and collection of their signs and scat are sure to entrance the reader and add immediacy to the search. The book contains a series of extras: sidebar fact boxes, McCarthy’s advice to young conservationists, how to conserve the snow leopard by supporting the Trust, unique facts and statistics about the region, descriptions of some of the more unusual animals of the area, a small Mongolian dictionary, author and photographer notes and a link to their web sites, and an index. Ogintz, Susan