A fascinating and foreboding call to action.
Following on the heels of Beyond Words: What Elephants and Whales Think and Feel (2019), this second adaptation of Safina’s adult bestseller Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel (2015) provides strong evidence for the author’s assertion that “A wolf is not an ‘it.’ A wolf is a ‘who.’ ”
The conversational text begins with a short prologue about the author’s decision to research wolves in the wild to better understand his own dogs, Jude and Chula. Off he goes to the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park, where scientists have been collaring and tracking wolves since their reintroduction in 1995. The last of the indigenous wolves had been killed by a dutiful park ranger in 1926—before most people understood that without wolves, that particular ecosystem was doomed. Indeed, only a few years after reintroduction, the system had rebalanced. In 2012, gray wolves were removed from the federal endangered species list, and Wyoming ended its moratorium on wolf-killing. Used to moving beyond the confines of the national park during winter, wolves who had never feared humans were easy prey for hunters. Safina makes it heartbreakingly clear that each dead wolf represents a huge disturbance to each discrete wolf pack. Readers learn the personal histories, behaviors, and personalities of several specific wolves. There is some humor to soften the overall alarming wake-up call, and vivid descriptions allow readers to join treks across wintry landscapes. Later in the book, attention turns to the author’s dogs, domestication, and even theory of mind, all conveyed clearly and succinctly.
A fascinating and foreboding call to action. (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-14465-2
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
This glossy, colorful title in the “I Want To Be” series has visual appeal but poor organization and a fuzzy focus, which limits its usefulness. Each double-paged layout introduces a new topic with six to eight full-color photographs and a single column of text. Topics include types of environmentalists, eco-issues, waste renewal, education, High School of Environmental Studies, environmental vocabulary, history of environmentalism, famous environmentalists, and the return of the eagle. Often the photographs have little to do with the text or are marginal to the topic. For example, a typical layout called “Some Alternative Solutions” has five snapshots superimposed on a double-page photograph of a California wind farm. The text discusses ways to develop alternative forms of energy and “encourage environmentally friendly lifestyles.” Photos include “a healer who treats a patient with alternative therapy using sound and massage,” and “the Castle,” a house built of “used tires and aluminum cans.” Elsewhere, “Did You Know . . . ” shows a dramatic photo of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, but the text provides odd facts such as “ . . . that in Saudi Arabia there are solar-powered pay phones in the desert?” Some sections seem stuck in, a two-page piece on the effects of “El Niño” or 50 postage-stamp–sized photos of endangered species. The author concludes with places to write for more information and a list of photo credits. Pretty, but little here to warrant purchase. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-15-201862-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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