Science - USA (2021-12-03)

1190 3 DECEMBER 2021 • VOL 374 ISSUE 6572 science.org SCIENCE

MIDDLE GRADES SCIENCE BOOK

The Great Bear

Rescue

Reviewed by Sacha Vignieri1

There are a great many species threatened
with extinction today, and a challenge adults
face is how to convey messages about these
species to younger generations without pass-
ing along a sense of hopelessness. Author
Sandra Markle takes on this challenge in
The Great Bear Rescue, which describes ef-
forts taken over the past few decades to save
a small population of brown bears living in
the Gobi Desert.
The Gobi Desert is one of the harshest re-
gions on Earth, yet the bears that live there
have adapted to survive in this unlikely envi-
ronment, and the Mongolian people have long

revered them. In The Great Bear Rescue, Mar-

kle describes some of the extreme challenges

faced by the bears in a way that is clear and

yet not overwhelming to young readers. These

include the need to find water, a rare resource

in the desert, and the native tubers that make

up most of their diet. A newer, and especially

dangerous, threat is the presence of illegal

mining. Her prose is paired with compelling

photographs of the bears, their environment,

and the people working to save them.

There are only a handful of Gobi bears left—

between 22 and 40, only eight of which are

females. Such a dire situation may seem like

a lost cause, but Markle’s focus on research-

ers’ efforts to understand these animals and

local people’s efforts to protect them leaves the

reader feeling relatively optimistic.

I came away with the impression that Gobi

bears now rely on the local people, who main-

tain feeding stations and are restoring essen-

tial plant resources, to survive. It made me sad

to think that this resilient species might no

longer be capable of sustaining itself. It was

heartening, however, to see how local people’s

efforts to save and protect the bears connect

the two populations in a way that is likely to

improve the bears’ chances of survival in our

changing world.

The Great Bear Rescue: Saving the Gobi Bears,

Sandra Markle, Millbrook Press, 2020, 40 pp.

The How and Wow

of the Human Body

Reviewed by Hilary Stewart

Full of vibrant illustrations, unexpected inter-

views with all your favorite organs, and an-

swers to the most important questions (how

many bathtubs could one person fill with spit ILLUSTRATION: HANNAH AGOSTA

BOOKS et al.

INSIGHTS

Books for young scientists and engineers

A timely vaccine explainer, a sumptuous feast of favorite foods, a handy guide to the night sky, and a number

of charming titles featuring charismatic creatures beloved by children (think chickens, bears, and butterfl ies) are

among this year’s fi nalists for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prizes for Excellence in Science Books, awards sponsored

by Subaru of America, Inc., and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, the publisher

of Science) that seek to encourage the publication of high-quality science titles for all ages. Read on for reviews

of the fi nalists written by staff of the Science family of journals. —Valerie Thompson

AAAS/SUBARU SB&F PRIZES FOR EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE BOOKS