Science - USA (2021-12-03)

(Antfer) #1

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

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