The Tarantula Scientist

Warning to all readers who suffer from arachnophobia: this riveting book is filled with close-up, full color, remarkable photographs of hairy, large, and fascinating tarantulas found by scientist Sam Marshall. An informal text combines spider fact and fiction as it records the science field trip to the rainforest of French Guiana, providing a memorable journey for readers.

Other books by this author

Becoming a Good Creature

Sy Montgomery

Illustrator:

Rebecca Green

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Nonfiction, Biography

Condor Comeback

Sy Montgomery

Age Level:

9-12

Genre:

Nonfiction

The author joins several field scientists to find the mysterious encantado, the pink dolphins of the Amazon said to seduce people to an enchanted city underwater. An informal narration draws readers into the rainforest travelogue to introduce amazing animals, environmental issues, and more. Full color photographs add rich detail. Montgomery’s experiences are also detailed for adults in Journey of the Pink Dolphins: An Amazon Quest .

Encantado: Pink Dolphin of the Amazon

Sy Montgomery

Age Level:

9-12

After five years, the call came allowing the author/photographer team to travel to an island off the coast of New Zealand to study highly endangered, rare, flightless parrots. There they meet volunteers who stay to help the animals and describe an accidental encounter with a kakapo in the wild in a breathtaking telling and arresting photographs.

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot

Sy Montgomery

Age Level:

9-12

Join the conservation director of the Snow Leopard Trust, Tom McCarthy, on a journey high to a hostile (at least for humans) place in Central Asia — so cold that tears freeze. The elusive cat is camouflaged well, but is revealed in this riveting chronicle through luminous photographs and an informative, evocative, and surprisingly taut text.

Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia

Sy Montgomery

Age Level:

9-12

When Temple Grandin was born, her parents knew that she was different. Years later she was diagnosed with autism. Her mother believed in her abilitie and supported her education, and Temple eventually went on to graduate school. Today, Dr. Temple Grandin is a scientist and professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Through her work she revolutionized the livestock industry. As an advocate for autism, Temple uses her experience as an example of the unique contributions that autistic people can make. This biography, complete with personal photos, takes us inside Temple’s extraordinary mind and opens the door to a broader understanding of autism.

Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

Sy Montgomery, Temple Grandin

Age Level:

9-12

Genre:

Biography, Nonfiction

Readers may have to change their opinion of spotted hyenas after meeting them as they are studied in the wild. Fluid prose and stunning photographs combine insight into the field scientists and information about the animals they study. While they remain formidable carnivores, hyenas are surprisingly brave and social animals and appealing in appearance. Thoroughly resourced and documented, this is narrative nonfiction at its best.

The Hyena Scientist

Sy Montgomery

Age Level:

9-12

Genre:

Nonfiction

There is great drama to be found on the Serengeti witnessed by scientists. Meet some of those who study the migration of wildebeest in Tanzania. Observe the animals that share the land with the wildebeest. The author’s insightful, illuminating, and highly readable narration in a handsome format with stunning photographs is also a plea for humankind to respect other mammals.

The Magnificent Migration: On Safari with Africa’s Last Great Herds

Sy Montgomery

Age Level:

9-12

Genre:

Nonfiction

Why tigers that live on the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve (on the Bay of Bengal) feast regularly on men (preferred over females) is a mystery studied by scientists and the subject of much local lore. And it makes riveting reading as it unfolds in the capable hands of this author. The region and its unusual treasures are further explored in a book for adults (and young adults), Spell of the Tiger: The Man-Eaters of Sundarbans .

The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans

Sy Montgomery

Age Level:

9-12

The author/photographer team joins biologist Lisa Dabek and other scientists and volunteers including people from Papua New Guinea as they endure an inhospitable environment to study the reclusive Matschie’s tree kangaroo. The wonder of this 10,000 foot high forest and its inhabitants is presented in enthralling text and amazing photos.