THE FIRE BUG CONNECTION

Sensibly omitting the kind of human drama that encumbered The Missing 'Gator of Gumbo Limbo' (1992), a fine author focuses again on the careful observation of nature. George's novelistic talents aren't wasted—she brings backwoods Maine, where some professor/environmentalists are enjoying a working summer with two of their kids, efficiently to life, while Mitch, 10, a resourceful computer maven, and thoughtful young naturalist Maggie, 12, are refreshingly individual. Both deeply curious about living things, they also have a rare ability to make connections and devise properly controlled experiments. Maggie's already observing bats in her bedroom, spiders, a Sphex ichneumoneus, and other wildlife when a Czech visitor presents her with some "fire bugs," allowed through customs because they are known not to survive in New England; by the end, through experiment, deduction, and computer access to databases, the kids know why—an elegant bit of original research that's respectfully greeted by the adults as a key to discovering natural pesticides. The intellectual enthusiasm here is wonderfully contagious, while the superbly detailed natural history is not just intrinsic to the story: it is the story. Thus, it's too bad there aren't illustrations of the species mentioned, and—in the context of such authoritative science—a note discussing what's fictional and what isn't. Otherwise: fascinating and (especially for budding naturalists) inspiring. (Fiction. 9-12)