Living Wild

CAMELS © 2013 Booklist, Angela Leeper, December 2012 Like any good animal series, these titles in the “Living Wild” series impart all the right information for school reports: physical description, habitat, life cycle, age range, care for the young, position upon the food chain, adaptations, and conservation efforts. The books go beyond these basics in how they consider the animals’ places in history and culture. Camels describes how these animals have remained a part of desert peoples’ cultures for thousands of years, as well as how one million feral dromedaries came to live and still exist in the deserts of central Australia. Sidebar facts, a world map, a glossary, and a bibliography add to the research value, while gorgeous color photographs, many full-page, and a concluding folk tale will lure browsers.

Continuing Series Honfiction Siiowcase LIVING WILD SERIES. CREATIVE EDUCATION. GR. 4 - 6 .

Camels. By Melissa Gish. 2012. 48p. illus. lib. ed., $24.95 (9781608181667). 599.63. Cougars. By Melissa Gish. 2012. 48p. illus. lib. ed., $24.95 (9781608181674). 599.75. Piranhas. By Melissa Gish. 2012. 48p. illus. lib. ed., $24.95

(9781608181681). 597. Sea Lions. By Melissa Gish. 2012. 48p. illus. lib. ed., $24.95

(9781608181698). 599.79. Like any good animal series, these titles in the Living Wild series impart all the right information for school reports: physical description, habitat, life cycle, age range, care for the young, position upon the food chain, adaptations, and conservation efforts. The books go beyond these basics in how they consider the animals' places in history and culture. Camels describes how these animals have remained a part of desert peoples' cultures for thousands of years as well as how one million feral dromedaries came to live and still exist in the deserts of central Australia. Cougars reveals the ongoing debate of protecting the North American cougar as rising numbers of these big cats coincide with a decline in deer, elk, porcupines, and other cougar prey. Piranhas debunks their horror-movie reputation as man-eating predators and explains their real eating habits and how Native South Americans have learned to coexist with these toothy terrors. Noting their differences from seals and their declining population due to global warming. Sea Lions highlights these marine mammals' intelligence and their use by the U.S. Navy. Sidebar facts, a world map, a glossary, and a bibliography add to the research value, while gorgeous color photographs, many full page, and a concluding folktale will lure browsers. ALSD RECOMMENDED FROM THIS SERIES:

• • • •

Tortoises (9781608181704). Vultures (9781608181711). Woodpeckers (9781608181728). Zehras (9781608181735).

TRAILBLAZERS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SERIES. CHELSEA. GR. 7 - 1 0 .

The Curie Family: Exploring Radioactivity. By Harry Henderson. 2012. 117p. illus. lib. ed., $35 (9781604136753). 539.7. Edward Pickering and His Women "Computers": Analyzing the Stars. By Lisa Yount. 2012. 130p. illus. lib. ed., $35 (9781604136647). 520.92. Larry Page and Sergey Brin: Information at Your Fingertips. By Harry Henderson. 2012. 134p. illus. lib. ed., $35 (9781604136760). 005.1092. The Leakey Family: Unearthing Human Ancestors. By Harry Henderson. 2012. 127p. illus. lib. ed., $35 (9781604136746). 599.9092. The Trailblazers in Science and Technology series mixes the

personal interest of biography with clear science information—a combination that should prove very useful in libraries. From Marie Curie's beginnings in a Poland struggling under Russian rule to Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin's Montessori early childhood education, these titles show the personal roots of each scientist's work. The Curie Family does a fine job discussing both the science behind radioactive elements and the dedicated, focused lives of mother Marie and daughter Irène, who were the first and second women to win Nobel Prizes, as well as their husbands, Pierre and Frederick. Fdward Pickering and His Women "Computers" focuses less on Pickering and more on the brilliant women astronomers such as Annie Jump Cannon who weren't allowed to use the telescopes and yet managed to catalog the stars. The dual biography of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin focuses more on business than science, bringing up the complex issues, including privacy, that have dogged the innovative applications of the computer giant. The Leakey Family provides a warts-and-all portrait of the volatile Leakeys and their work to learn about the origins of humans. Each volume includes a comprehensive list of events that are current up to April 2012, a glossary with exceptionally thorough and helpful definitions, and excellent reading lists that explain why each book or article might be useful. —Susan Dove Lempke

You CHOOSE: SURVIVAL SERIES. CAPSTONE. GR. 4 - 6 .

Can You Survive Extreme Mountain Climhing? An Interactive Survival Adventure. By Matt Doeden. 2012. 112p. illus. paper, $6.95 (9781429694780); lib. ed., $31.32 (9781429685832). 796.522. Can You Survive in the Special Forces? An Interactive Survival Adventure. By Matt Doeden. 2012. 112p. illus. paper, $6.95 (9781429694803); lib. ed., $31.32 (9781429685825). 356. Similar in concept to the publisher's original You Choose series, books in the You Choose: Survival series present narratives that include a variety of risky scenarios and let the reader choose which path to take at critical j junctures. While the original series transported readers to eras in the past, the current books offer present-day risks and rewards. Short sentences make the books accessible to many readers. Appearing on nearly half of the double-page spreads, small stock photos add an element of realism to the fictionalized accounts. Each book addresses readers directly, offering three unrelated stories with different characters, settings, and circumstances. Can You Survive Extreme Mountain Climbing? challenges readers to climb Kilimanjaro with Cousin Mike and a guide, scale the Matterhorn with Uncle Jack, and conquer Mount Everest accompanied by three friends and aided by a local guide and several porters. In Can You Survive Special Forces?, readers take leadership roles in three missions: rescuing hostages with the Green Berets, capturing an enemy airstrip with the Army Rangers, and capturing a terrorist leader with the Navy SEALs. Although the series has a strong element of fiction, it does offer some information as well as vicarious practice in making decisions and accepting the (sometimes fatal) consequences. —Carolyn Phelan

42 Booklist December 15, 2012

Youth