If you've never seen a lowland tapir, you're not alone. Most of the people who live near tapir habitat in Brazil's vast Pantanal ("the Everglades on steroids") haven't seen the elusive snorkel-snouted mammal, either. In this arresting nonfiction picture book, Sibert winners Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop join a tapir-finding expedition led by the Brazilian field scientist Pati Medici. Aspiring scientists will love the immediate, often humorous "you are there" descriptions of fieldwork, and gadget lovers will revel in the high-tech science at play, from microchips to the camera traps that capture the "soap opera" of tapir life.
Pair this with other intriguing stories of real-world science, at www.sciencemeetsadventure.com.
"Profiles of scientists and ranchers, discussions of other animals of the Pantanal, Bishop's typically electric photography, and a few tense moments in the wild combine to create a full, fascinating picture of tapirs and one place they call home, as well as the work being done to protect them."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Chapters about the team's day-by-day experiences, written in a lively, first-person voice, include memorable detail. . . A splendid addition to an exemplary series."
--Kirkus, starred review
"This contribution to the Scientists in the Field series seamlessly blends eloquent text and vivid images to spotlight the gentle tapir and those field scientists whose lives are committed to conserve animal species for the sake of our environment and our humanity."
--Booklist, starred review
This is the Sibert Medal author Sy Montgomery's ninth nonfiction title with HMH. She lives in Hancock, New Hampshire. Visit her website at www.symontgomery.com.
Nic Bishop, who holds a doctorate in biological sciences, is the photographer of many acclaimed books for children. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Visit his website at www.nicbishop.com.