Fact Friday: Call the Bee Doctor: How Science is Saving Honey Bees by Sandra Markle

Image: Lerner Publishing 

Call the Bee Doctor: How Science is Saving Honey Bees by Sandra Markle. 48 p. Millbrook Press/ Lerner Publishing, October, 2024. Review of copy borrowed from public library. 

Fact Friday features Call the Bee Doctor: How Science is Saving Honey Bees by Sandra Markle. In 2013, veteran science writer, Markle published a book called The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees. In it, she described how the honeybee population was threatened by something called Colony Collapse Disorder. In this update, Ms. Markle describes the work of apiologists, or, bee doctors in their search for a cure of CCD.

The photos are the stars here as they help readers further understand the rather technical prose. The glossary may also be consulted frequently. Ms. Markle details the process of scientific inquiry and highlights the highs and lows. She makes the connection between honeybees and their importance to agriculture and the effect of climate change and use of pesticides on their survival. She might even inspire some middle school students to become apiologists!

In addition to a great glossary, the back matter includes additional sources, making this book a valuable resource for young researchers. Long live the queen!

Fact Friday: Everywhere Beauty is Harlem: the Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava by Gary Golio

Image: Astra Books/ Calkins Creek

Everywhere Beauty is Harlem: the Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava by Gary Golio. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. unpgd. Astra Books for Young Readers/ Calkins Creek, January, 2024. 9781662680557. Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.

I have to open this review with an apology. I received this finished copy over a year ago, and while I read it immediately, posted it as a 2023 favorite and wrote, "perfect in every way," I never blogged about it. I set it aside with the intention of posting, but my health issues got in the way. Last weekend, I was sorting stacks of books, came across it, and sat down to reread. I wondered if it would get any Youth Media Award love and put it on my spreadsheet for today's "Fact Friday" post. Happily, E. B. Lewis received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for his stunning illustrations this past Monday.

Writing in the present tense, using his signature spare and evocative language, Gary Golio describes a "day in the life" of photographer, Roy DeCarava. He worked a day job, but once work was over, "Roy's time is his own now." He loads his camera, he looks for subjects, and Harlem is brimming with them. Mr. Lewis' watercolor illustrations bring Harlem and its inhabitants to life. Each spread invites the reader to pause. 

Back matter includes further information about Mr, DeCarava, a black and white photo of the photographer, a timeline, a photograph of his camera and a photo of a Harlem street scene. A bibliography is included along with a list of museums featuring his photos. 

Everywhere Beauty is Harlem would be a terrific addition to my picture book biography unit and any school, classroom or public library. 

Fact Friday: Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candace Fleming

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candace Fleming. 384 p. Scholastic Focus/ Scholastic Inc., March, 2024. 

Fact Friday features Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candace Fleming. During World War II, the Axis powers sent coded messages that were very difficult to crack due to their use of Enigma machines. The British government sent telegrams to hundreds of young women from all walks of life, many of them teens to Station X at Bletchley Park. There, they were sworn to secrecy and embarked on work attempting to decode intercepted messages from the enemy. Ms. Fleming introduces the reader to ten of those extraordinary women in this intense and fascinating work of narrative nonfiction. Some of the women were skilled in mathematics and others spoke several languages. All worked tirelessly to turn the tide of the war. Their work was instrumental in the British Navy's defeat of the Italian Navy as well as during the planning of the D-Day invasion. 

The book is chock full of photos, side stories and information about codes and ciphers. Any new book by Ms. Fleming was an automatic purchase for my school library. This should have wide appeal and one I highly recommend. Happy reading!  

ETA: Here's a short video of the author talking about Enigma Girls. 

Fact Friday: Urban Coyotes by Mary Kay Carson

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Urban Coyotes by Mary Kay Carson. 80 p. Scientists in the Field series. Clarion Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, August, 2024. 9780063271470. Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.

Fact Friday features Urban Coyotes by Mary Kay Carson. This is the latest in a favorite series of mine, the Scientists in the Field series. Since the early nineties, scientists in the Chicago area have been studying coyotes' incursion into more densely populated areas. Coyotes are often looked upon with fear and considered nuisances at the least and a danger to pets and small children. Scientists at the Urban Coyote Research Project set about studying the impact that coyotes had on the urban landscape. It turns out that coyotes are supremely adaptable and have a positive impact, since they prey on smaller animals, such as rats. 

Ms. Carson describes the migration of coyotes as well as the work of tracking, trapping and examining them in fluid, easy to understand text, accompanied by full-color, well-captioned photos that will fascinate. Back matter includes a glossary, sources and an index. Highly recommend! Happy reading!

Fact Friday: A Meerkat Diary: My Journey into the Wild World of a Meerkat Mob by Suzi Eszterhas

Image: Owlkids

A Meerkat Diary: My Journey into the Wild World of a Meerkat Mob by Suzi Eszterhas. 40 p. Owlkids, October, 2024. 9781771476386. Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.

Fact Friday features A Meerkat Diary: My Journey into the Wild World of a Meerkat Mob by Suzi Eszterhas. Whenever I hear that Ms. Eszterhas has a new book out, I make sure to read it and usually buy it for TMS' collection. She is a renowned photographer who travels the world documenting wildlife. In this book, she travels to the Kalahari Desert in Botswana with her zoologist assistent to spend two weeks with meerkats and the naturalists who observe the meerkats and accustom the mob to the presence of humans.

Readers will learn about the region and fun meerkat facts as well as facts about other animals that share the ecosystem with these curious and inventive furry creatures. As usual, the photographs are the stars of the show as Ms. Eszterhas manages to get up close and personal. If you're a reader who loves wildlife, this is the book for you. If you're a facthound who laps up information, this is the book for you. If you don't care a fig about nature or meerkats, read this book and you will.

Fact Friday: Peace is a Chain Reaction: How World War II Japanese Balloon Bombs Brought People of Two Nations Together by Tanya Lee Stone

Image: Candlewick Press

Peace is a Chain Reaction: How World War II Japanese Balloon Bombs Brought People of Two Nations Together by Tanya Lee Stone. 176 p. Candlewick Press, September, 2022. 9780763676865. (own)

Happy Friday! Did you know that the Japanese military dropped bombs on U.S. soil during WWII? Seventh and eighth graders who read the picture book biography, Thirty Minutes over Oregon: a Japanese Pilot's World War II Story, know about Nobuo Fujita, the pilot who flew his aircraft from a submarine to drop a bomb in Oregon. It landed harmlessly in the woods. This past summer, I read our Fact Friday feature and learned of a second incident. Peace is a Chain Reaction: How World War II Japanese Balloon Bombs Brought People of Two Nations Together by Tanya Lee Stone presents the story from multiple perspectives in a succinct, highly readable narrative that is profusely illustrated with photos, drawings and maps. Beginning with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the resulting internment of Japanese Americans, then explains the technology behind balloon bombs and how they were able to float on air currents to the U.S. Unfortunately, a group of people, mostly children, out walking in the woods, came upon an unexploded bomb and six died. Ms. Stone weaves the story of Yuzuru Takeshita, an internee with the stories of the survivors and siblings and townspeople with the story of the factory in Japan, where high school students, mostly girls, were tasked with constructing the bombs. Extensive back matter shows how well researched this work was. Highly recommended!

Fact Friday: Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Angela Joy

Image: Macmillan

Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Angela Joy and illustrated by Janell Washington. 64 p. Roaring Brook Press/ Macmillan Publishers, September 2022. 9781250220950.

Happy Friday! I have enjoyed the first week of summer break, taking it easy with lots of Boo time and garden time. Sorry that I'm posting Fact Friday is a bit late today. It features Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Angela Joy and illustrated by Janell Washington. This picture book biography of Mamie Till Mobley opens in August of 1955. Mrs. Till has just been informed of the death of her only son Emmett in Mississippi, hundreds of miles away from her Chicago home. The double-page spread depicts the silhouettes of two men standing near a river. The page turn introduces Mamie as a young child, a "child of the great migration." Spare, lyrical prose provide readers with an understanding of this woman who was remarkable for her time and the unconditional love she showered on her equally remarkable son, Emmett.

She insisted that her son's body be returned to her in Chicago. It arrived locked and with instructions barring the casket from being opened. She defied the instructions and held an open casket wake to show the world what happened to her son, thereby sparking the civil rights movement.

The cut paper collage art is primarily black, tan and white with pops of red and blue. Little details, such as the red ribbon heart connecting mother and son as she sent him off on his fateful train ride are especially powerful. Plentiful back matter includes a note from both the author and illustrator, a soundtrack, glossary, time line and sources.

Fact Friday: Change the Game: a Graphic Novel by Colin Kaepernick and Eve L. Ewing.

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Change the Game: a Graphic Novel by Colin Kaepernick and Eve L. Ewing. Illustrated by Orlando Caicedo. 144p. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc., March, 2023. 9781338789652. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Happy penultimate Friday of the school year! Can you tell that penultimate is one of my favorite words? Fact Friday features Change the Game: a Graphic Novel by Colin Kaepernick. Young Colin was a multi-sport student athlete at his high school. Adopted by white parents, and attending a predominantly white school, Colin experienced casual racism daily. He was being scouted by colleges to play baseball thanks to his fastball, but he has doubts about playing baseball. No colleges expressed an interest in having him play football. 

This graphic novel conveys Colin Kaepernick's gradual coming of age thoughtfully, interspersing some excellent sports sequences. I'm not sure how many middle school students are aware of Mr. Kaepernick* or his social justice activism, but fans of football and baseball as well as graphic novel memoirs will enjoy this thoughtful entry.

*The Monday after Mr. Kaepernick first took a knee, I was standing behind an eighth grader who liked to stir the waters. He took a knee during the pledge, then looked around and saw me. He stood up immediately. I called him aside and told him that if he was taking a knee on principle and in support, I had no problem, but if he was looking to get a rise out of his classmates and teachers, he should rethink it. 

Fact Friday: Sunshine: How One Camp Taught Me about Life, Death, and Hope by Jarrett J. Krosockzka

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Sunshine: How One Camp Taught Me about Life, Death and Hope by Jarrett J. Krosockzka. 240 p. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc. April, 2023. 9781338356311. (Review of finished purchased copy)

Happy Friday! Fact Friday features Sunshine: How One Camp Taught Me about Life, Death and Hope by Jarrett K. Krosockzka. Fans of the author/ illustrator's Hey, Kiddo will be happy to learn of this new memoir. In 1994, sixteen-year-old Jarrett decided to leave his comfort zone and volunteer at Camp Sunshine for a week. This was a camp in Maine where children who had cancer and their families could spend a week sailing and doing regular camp things. Jarrett's grandma worries it will be too depressing, but Jarrett has an open mind. He's assigned to Diego, who has brain cancer and is wheelchair-bound. He's also not interested in being at camp and is unwilling to participate in camp activities. Jarrett gives him his space, but is quietly encouraging. He also befriends Eric and his family. Eric is obsessed with Power Rangers and also has leukemia.

The limited pallet of browns, greys and yellows effectively convey mood as Jarrett moves through his week trying to make each family feel at home and have fun. Photos, drawings and clippings from his time at camp begin each chapter, and readers gain insight into some challenges others face in this touching memoir.

 

Fact Friday: A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

Image: Macmillan

A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat. 320 p. First Second/ Macmillan, February, 2023. 9781626724150. (Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.)

Fact Friday features A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat. Years before becoming a Caldecott Medal-winning author/ illustrator, Dan Santat was an introverted middle school student doing his best to fly under the radar of teachers as well as classmates. He is the only child in his family and his parents want him to spread his wings a bit. Their answer is to send him to Europe on a class trip the summer after his eighth grade year.

He really doesn't want to go and is dismayed to learn that some of his female tormenters are in the group. He learns some lessons the hard way, such as unwittingly eating an entire basket of delicious French bread only to find that he was getting charged for each! He discovers Fanta and revels in the art at the Louvre. 

The art is just gorgeous. Landmarks and cityscapes are brought to glorious life and flashbacks are done in muted blues and add context. At turns hilarious and poignant, readers will relate to the angst and ache while also marveling over life before smart phones and social media. 

Fact Friday: Where Have All the Birds Gone? : Nature in Crisis by Rebecca E. Hirsch

Image: Lerner Publishing

Happy Friday! Tomorrow is Earth Day and I hope you will get out and do something in nature tomorrow (and every day). Fact Friday features Where Have All the Birds Gone? : Nature in Crisis by Rebecca E. Hirsch. Did you know that birds have an important function in ecosystems around the world? Sure, they are pretty to look at and birdsong is just delightful to hear, but some, like hummingbirds, pollinate flowers, and others, like owls, keep down rodents. Unfortunately, bird populations are plummeting. According to this book, since 1970, the U.S. and Canada have lost nearly 30% of the bird population. This is due to human development, especially tall buildings and light pollution. House cats that are allowed out of doors prey on birds. Pesticides humans dump on lawns and spray in the air get into the insects that birds consume and poison them. And climate change is also affecting migration patterns.

Read this book to learn how scientists are trying to mitigate this loss. Try to notice the birds that surround you each day and consider what you might be able to do to make the environment less harsh.

Fact Friday: Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney

Image: LBYR

Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney. 160 p. LBYR/ Hachette Book Group, January, 2023. 9780316383851. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Mr. Pinkney finally won the Caldecott Medal for his wordless depiction of Aesop's fable, The Lion and Mouse after winning the Honor medal five times. He had been working on his memoir for ten years before his death in 2021. It is told in three parts and highlights his Black neighborhood in and around East Earlham Street in Philadelphia, his large and close-knit family and his struggles in school as a dyslexic. He always carried materials to draw with and did so whenever he could. This intimate memoir is filled with brown and white sketches of Mr. Pinkney, his family and his neighborhood. Budding artists and fans of his work will love this.

Fact Friday: A Leopard Diary: My Journey into the Hidden World of a Mother and Her Cubs by Suzi Eszterhas

Image: Owlkids 

A Leopard Diary: My Journey into the Hidden World of a Mother and Her Cubs by Suzi Eszterhas. 40 p. Owlkids Books, November, 2022. 978-1771474917. Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.

Happy Friday! Well, I made it! My February break starts at 3:10 today! I am so ready. Nothing is planned for the week except lots of walks with Boo, yoga daily and whatever chores strike my fancy. Oh, and reading. 

Fact Friday features A Leopard Diary: My Journey into the Hidden World of a Mother and Her Cubs by Suzi Eszterhas. I've featured books by Ms. Eszterhas before. She's an uber-talented wildlife photographer whose photoessays are as charming as they are informative. In A Leopard Diary, she traveled to an animal refuge in Botswana to attempt to chronicle how a leopard mothers her cubs. She had the help of an expert guide named Kambango, who successfully tracked the trio as Mama constantly changed den locations. The writing, in diary format, is engaging and the author's enthusiasm and passion for her work is evident. The accompanying photos are crisp and varied as readers get a rare glimpse into the life of a young leopard family.

This stunner won't be a shelf sitter. 

Fact Friday: Infinity: Figuring Out Forever by Sarah C. Campbell

Image: Astra Publishing House

Infinity: Figuring Out Forever by Sarah C. Campbell. Photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell. 32 p. Astra Young Readers/ Astra Publishing House, August, 2022. 9781629798752. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Happy Friday TMS Readers! I hope you dress for the weather today because it's cold and windy out there! Fact Friday features Infinity: Figuring Out Forever by Sarah C. Campbell with photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell. The rather abstract concept of infinity is explained here using fairly simple language and interesting photographs. When approached concretely, it is easy to understand that no matter how high one counts, there is always a larger number. The philosophical approach is a bit mind-blowing. The astrophysics? Whoa! This attractively designed book is really fun!

Fact Friday: The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana Stiefel

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Fact Friday features The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana Stiefel and illustrated by Susan Gal. This powerful picture book tells the story of Yaffa Eliach, who grew up in a shtetl in Poland called Eishyshok. The small Jewish community was tight-knit and committed to keeping their religion and culture alive. Yaffa loved to help one grandmother sell candles at the marketplace and the other grandmother in her photography studio. The villagers visited the photography studio to pose for portraits marking weddings, births and bar mitzvahs, then they sent the photos to family members who moved away each Jewish New Year.

Yaffa was six when Germany invaded Poland and nearly all the villagers were rounded up and killed. Yaffa's father helped the family escape with just the clothing they wore, but Yaffa was able to tuck a few family photos into her shoes. The family survived by living in underground shelters, pig sties and potato sheds. Her mother taught her to read and her father told stories of the town's holidays. She took comfort in looking at the photos.

When the war finally ended, the family could not return to Eishyshok. It was not safe. Instead, they wandered across Europe to Jerusalem. Eventually, Yaffa moved to the U.S. Thirty five years after the war, President Carter asked her for help planning the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Yaffa had an idea that would celebrate life instead of reflecting solely on "death and darkness." Over the next 17 years, she traveled the world to meet with survivors from the village to collect family photos. The result is the permanent exhibit at the museum in Washington D.C. called the "Tower of Life."

The ink, watercolor and digital artwork is stunning, ranging from joyful to dark. Two photographs of Yaffa as a six-year-old are reproduced and the depiction of the "Tower of Life" requires turning the book vertically for its full effect. The Tower of Life belongs in every kind of library. Highly recommended. Never forget.

Fact Friday: Play Like a Girl: a Graphic Memoir by Misty Wilson and illustrated by David Wilson

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Play Like a Girl: a Graphic Memoir by Misty Wilson and illustrated by David Wilson. 272 p. Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins Publishers, September, 2022. 9780063064690. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Happy Friday! It is the end of a lo-ong week! Fact Friday features a graphic memoir called Play Line a Girl: a Graphic Memoir by Misty Wilson and illustrated by David Wilson. 

It's the early aughts and seventh grader Misty is athletic and competitive. She has always enjoyed competing against the boys, especially in football. Now, they are playing tackle for the school team and shutting her out. She convinces her best friend, Bree to try out for the team, but doesn't anticipate the grueling practices, the team's hostility and the disinterest by Bree. Her parents and coach are supportive and she does find some support from a team member, who helps her adjust.

This is the story of her football season and in addition to school and friendship drama, there is plenty of great football action. The vibrant, appealing art is reminiscent of fan favorite Raina Telgemeier and Misty is totally relatable. 

Play Like a Girl is this husband/ wife team's debut and is a terrific addition to any school or classroom library.

Fact Friday: Victory, Stand: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith and Derick Barnes. Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile

Image: Norton Young Readers

Victory, Stand: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith and Derick Barnes. Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. 208 p. Norton Young Readers, September, 2022. 9781324052159. (Review of finished, purchased copy.)

Happy Friday! Fact Friday features Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith and Derick Barnes and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. This graphic novel memoir opens dramatically, depicting Mr. Smith preparing to run the 200 meter race in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. Then, flashes back to the author's youth. He was the seventh of twelve children and his parents were sharecroppers in Acworth, Texas. The family were poor, but hard-working and all the children worked the farm from an early age. His parents valued education as well and young Tommie was a good student. He was also a natural athlete, excelling in multiple sports.

He won an athletic scholarship to college to play football, basketball and to run track. But obtaining an education was the goal. Though he encountered racism his entire life, he was one of the few Black students on campus and student athletes who were Black encountered racism from spectators as well as opposing teams. Additionally, the civil rights movement was gaining momentum and some Black student athletes thought they should also be making a stand.

This dynamic memoir with its gorgeous black and white illustrations and effect paneling, will keep readers riveted. The author provides insight into his own motivations as well as important historical context. Both he and his teammate, John Carlos were stripped of their Olympic medals when they protested during the playing of the National Anthem.

Victory. Stand! was a National Book Award Finalist, a finalist for the 2023 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award, and a Horn Book Fanfare. It made many year-end Best Books lists as well. Highly recommended for your graphic novel fans as well as sports history buffs and budding activists. 

Fact Friday: Art of Protest: Creating, Discovering, and Activating Art for Your Revolution by De Nichols

Image: Candlewick Press

Art of Protest: Creating, Discovering, and Activating Art for Your Revolution by De Nichols. Illustrated by Diana Dagadita, Molly Mendoza, Olivia Twist, Saddo, and Diego Becas. 80 p. Big Picture Press/ Candlewick Press, November, 2021. 9781536223255. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Fact Friday features Art of Protest: Creating, Discovering, and Activating Art for Your Revolution by De Nichols. The author calls herself an "artivist," meaning she uses her art to protest injustice. This short volume is part-memoir, part history of protest art and part how-to and sure to inspire budding "artivists." She collaborated with other artists on this colorful and compelling book. Protest art can take many forms from posters to performance art, from song to dance. Short biographies of notable artists are sprinkled throughout. Informational literature at its finest. 

Fact Friday: Raising Don: The True Story of a Spunky Baby Tapir by Georgeanne Irvine

Image: San Diego Zoo Shop

Raising Don: The True Story of a Spunky Baby Tapir by Georgeanne Irvine. 36 p. Southwestern Publishing House, October 11, 2022. 9781943198146. (Review of finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media.)

Happy Friday! What a day we are having hear in northern NJ weather-wise! The temperature plummeted from the mid-eighties to the low sixties last evening, then to the low fifties overnight! I hope you get out and enjoy some of it! 

Fact Friday wishes an early happy book birthday to Raising Don: the True Story of a Spunky Baby Tapir by Georgeanne Irvine. Don's birth was celebrated by the scientists and caregivers at the San Diego Zoo. He was the first Baird's tapir to be born in captivity in more than thirty years. Baird's tapirs, native to Central America, are endangered. The celebration quickly turned to concern because Luna, the tapir mom rejected her newborn and, instead of feeding and nurturing him, pushed him around her enclosure. Luckily, caretakers were there quickly to intervene and his injuries were mild.

But the baby, named Don in honor of a retired zoo veterinarian, needed milk, preferably his mother's milk. Readers will learn how the team solved that problem as well as other challenges they had trying to teach a baby tapir to be a tapir. 

Full-color photos chronicle Don's life at the zoo and will definitely elicit plenty of "Aw!" and "So cute!" commentary. The paper is sturdy enough to hold up to multiple readings. The end pages are bright yellow and feature Don's footprints in front and "Ten Things You and Your Family Can Do to Help Wildlife" on the back end. Back matter includes extra tapir fun facts, a map showing where tapirs live in the world and a list of threats to wild tapirs along with thumbnail photos of the four different kinds. 

This cheerful, accessible book will have wide appeal and is a terrific addition to any library! Look for it on October 11. 

Fact Friday: The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale: Restoring an Island Ecosystem by Nancy Castaldo

Image: HarperCollins

The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale: Restoring an Island Ecosystem by Nancy Castaldo. Photography by Morgan Heim. 96 p. Clarion Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, August, 2022. 9780358274230. (Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.)

Fact Friday features The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale: Restoring an Island Ecosystem by Nancy Castaldo. Photographs by Morgan Heim. Ecosystems are fragile. The organisms within it interact and there's balance. When an apex predator is missing, usually due to human intervention, their prey then tend to overpopulate and ruin the plant life. Isle Royale sits in Lake Superior about fifty miles from Michigan. It is one of the least visited National Parks due to its remote location and also the subject of a sixty-year scientific study. The wolf population was decimated by a disease brought by dogs, allowing the moose population to explode and thus, alter the plant life negatively. Scientists have intervened by trying to introduce wolves to the island. Author Castaldo and photographer Heim traveled to the island to interview the scientists involved in this project.

Eighth graders know how much I love the Scientist in the Field series. I teach a seventh grade cycle class about narrative nonfiction that is centered on this series, which covers a lot of curriculum connections from STEM to LA. This addition to the series does not disappoint. The fascinating story is beautifully illustrated with full-color photos of the island and the scientists at work tracking and recording. Back matter includes a glossary, sources and suggestions for further reading.

Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale is a great title for budding naturalists and fans of the U.S. National Parks. I love that cover!