Category: Middle Grade Nonfiction

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The Manatee Scientists: Saving Vulnerable Species

The Manatee Scientists: Saving Vulnerable Species by Peter Lourie, part of the respected Scientists in the Field series, follows scientists from around the world trying to learn more about manatees in a race protect them from extinction.

Manatees are fascinating. Distantly related to elephants, these large, lumbering herbivores live exclusively in warm waters. They are found in Florida, the Caribbean, the Amazon, and West Africa.

As the title suggests, the book follows leading manatee scientists in their studies. Peter Lourie documents the techniques the scientists use and the problems they encounter. In the Amazon River basin, the author accompanies Fernando Rosas on a boat trip to follow radio-tagged manatees that have been released from captivity.  He flies with John Reynolds, who does an aerial count of manatees in warm Florida waters, and shows researcher Lucy Keith rescuing West African manatees trapped behind a dam in Senegal. Sadly, one of the problems the scientists encounter in trying to preserve the wild populations is that the people who live along the rivers in both South America and Africa rely on manatees for food.

Peter Lourie is a photographer as well as author, and took many of the numerous color photographs. His narration adds a real sense of adventure to what the scientists are doing.

Cybils notes: It would have been nice to see a bit more about what the scientists were finding out. By that I mean I wondered what their results were, not just their methods. For example, it would be nice to learn if manatees really are useful to keep down vegetation in lakes that serve hydroelectric plants. Also, it would probably have been appropriate to mention the Steller’s sea cow, a relative of the manatees that really did go extinct.

The Manatee Scientists: Saving Vulnerable Species has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category. It will be a big hit with nature lovers and budding scientists. For informal science, use the book to accompany a trip to an aquarium that houses manatees, or even better, a trip to Florida to see manatees in the wild.

Video of Florida manatees in action:

Reading level: Ages 9 and up
Hardcover: 80 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (April 11, 2011)
ISBN-10: 054715254X
ISBN-13: 978-0547152547

Stem Friday is at Celebrate Science today. Click through for links to more excellent STEM books.

If you would like to participate in STEM Friday in the future, go to Booktalking blog for more information.

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Explorers Who Made It…Or Died Trying

Explorers Who Made It… Or Died Trying by Frieda Wishinsky and illustrated by Bill Dickson is a fun book about twelve famous explorers who got A’s in daring and persistence (according to Wishinkey’s report cards), but did not always get along well with others. This book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.

This book is a fun, fast read. It is broken into ten chapters with plenty of subheadings, so it is easy to find just the information you are looking for. The black and white illustrations include plenty of maps for geography lessons, plus less-than-serious cartoons.

It is perfect for children who are doing research on historical figures, and who are interested in adventurers.

The explorers included are:

  • Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson
    •    Marco Polo
    •    Henry Hudson
    •    Christopher Columbus
    •    James Cook
    •    Hernán Cortés
    •    Samuel de Champlain
    •    Lewis and Clark
    •    John Franklin
    •    Roald Amundsen

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Canada (Oct 1 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1443100102
ISBN-13: 978-1443100106

This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Be sure to look for more information about children’s books at today’s Book Talk Tuesday.

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Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas

Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas by Jeanette Larson and Adrienne Yorinks with illustrations by Adrienne Yorinks, is a blend of past and present that combines factual information with ancient wisdom of pourquoi tales. Splash in fabric art illustrations and you have an interesting cultural mix that is uniquely American.  

Jeanette Larson and Adrienne Yorinks are friends who were looking for a topic to write about together. Adrienne Yorinks has a degree in animal behavior as well as being a fabric artist. Jeanette has written professional books for librarians. When they hit on a mutual interest in hummingbirds, they knew they had a winner. You can read more about their collaboration at Donna Bowman Bratton.

Hummingbirds are fascinating creatures. Here in Arizona Anna’s hummingbirds stay year around, and many species fly through during migrations. You can’t help but be captivated by their bright colors and furious energy.

It may be the hummingbirds attract your interest to this book, but it is the folktales that make it special. Telling folktales was the way people recorded and passed around information before the advent of writing and printing presses. Many people find that these stories make it easier to remember certain concepts. Folktales also offer a glimpse into the culture of the people who told them.

Both the folktales and the fabric art are great ways to inspire a child’s creativity. After reading the tales aloud, they can be the basis for fabric art and craft projects, puppet shows, serve as writing prompts for new folktales and stories, etc. Jeanette Larson has activity sheets and links on her website to help get you started.

This book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category, and has gotten a lot of attention. For more informative reviews of Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas, see

NC Teacher Stuff

Simply Science

Not Just for Kids

Reading level: Ages 9 and up
Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing (February 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1580893325
ISBN-13: 978-1580893329

This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Be sure to look for more information about children’s books at today’s Book Talk Tuesday.

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Oil Spill! Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico

Oil Spill! Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico by Elaine Landau is a succinct account of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April of 2010 and the subsequent oil spill. The book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.

Although the oil-soaked pelican on the cover might suggest something else, Landau chose to concentrate on how the spill occurred and the technological challenges involved in trying to stop the spill and cleaning it up in the first three chapters. The disastrous effects of the spill are limited to four pages in Chapter 4, and the remainder of the book is devoted to what can be done. In the back matter is a two page spread of past oil spills.

The book is illustrated with color photographs and detailed drawings of the drilling equipment.

I liked that the book was factual and straightforward, not at all alarmist. It is perfect for middle grade readers, and would be appropriate for earth science units or Earth Day studies.

Here’s a fabulous hands-on science activity to accompany Oil Spill.

Reading level: Ages 8 and up
School & Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Millbrook Press (March 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 076137485X
ISBN-13: 978-0761374855

Be sure to look for more information about children’s books at today’s Book Talk Tuesday.