Details: Product Description
Galápagos giant tortoises are fascinating―and endangered. They live only on the Galápagos Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador. These tortoises face threats from the humans who live on―and visit―the islands, as well as from Earth s warming climate. Join author Kate Messner on an a journey to the Galápagos Islands to see these incredible creatures up close and discover how cutting-edge technology is helping scientists to study and protect them.
From School Library Journal
Gr 4-9-Messner delves into the work of the Galápagos Tortoise Movement Ecology Programme by painting a vivid picture of not only the giant tortoises of these unique islands but also of the scientists who study animals that will outlive them. Beginning with theories on how the tortoises arrived on the volcanic islands and progressing to the challenges posed by increased farming, tourism, and climate change, the author explains the uniqueness of these amazing creatures and the enthusiasm of the people who work every day to ensure their survival. Male and female scientists and assistants from a variety of countries (the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, and Ecuador) are represented. Messner never talks down to her audience, describing historical horrors and modern realities in unflinching but age-appropriate ways, and seamlessly defining unfamiliar terms in the same sentence in which they are introduced. QR codes that take readers to videos of the scientists in action supplement engaging sidebars, full-color photographs, and helpful maps and illustrations. Readers are encouraged to head to movebank.org to track the migration of individual tortoises as well as to join the tortoise team by raising money for further GPS tracking or for supporting the crucial hatchling work that boosts tortoise survival. A Tortoise Timeline, glossary, comprehensive source notes, further reading, and an index round out the additional features that make this work accessible. VERDICT Highly recommended for libraries and science classrooms with budding naturalists.-Courtney Lewis, St. Catherine s Sch., Richmond, VAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review
It s uplifting to see young people taking climate matters into their own hands and demanding action. But at the same time, they re suffering from levels of eco-anxiety that are off the scale compared to anything I experienced at their age. Thankfully, writers and illustrators are responding to this new reality and making books that not only connect readers to animals and nature, as children s books always have, but also help them understand what s going on and reassure them that there are ways to defend our troubled planet. Sea Lions in the Parking Lot, by Lenora Todaro and Annika Siems, tells the true stories of what 12 animal species got up to when Covid-19 kept people indoors. In years to come, these will surely be some of the few joyous tales told about the pandemic, during which so many of us were enchanted by animals moving into cities and we caught a glimpse of a world without humans. This moment in time is gloriously brought to life on the page with brief descriptions and stunning, double-page illustrations of animals — playing, exploring and napping in peace — that will resonate with young readers. There are Sika deer clopping up and down a subway escalator in Japan. In Kruger National Park in South Africa, a pride of lions warm their bellies in the midday sun, the biggest, happiest cats I ve ever seen. Wild boar have a lovely time chewing flowers and splashing in the fountains of Haifa, Israel. There s a soulful gorilla undisturbed by visitors in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. And in Maine, frogs the size of paper clips are free to hop across roads without getting squashed flat. An octopus in a Venice lagoon peeping o