I recently plugged The Frog Scientist, by Pamela S. Turner, on my list of holiday rec’s, but I wanted to do a proper review on this wonderful non-fiction book that reads like a story. The book follows scientist Tyrone Hayes and his experiments as he attempts to discover why frogs all over the world are disappearing. With over a hundred species going extinct since 1980, I love how the book does not take a simple approach to this complex problem with many sources, including pesticides, fungal attacks, encrouching species, and habitat loss. The story has a similarly nuanced view of Hayes’ struggles in school, his abiding love of science, and the help he gets along the way from mentors and friends encouraging him to continue his work. This heart warming story will encourage young readers think big questions about science, one of my great loves as well, and with a high reading level and challenging non-fiction content, this is an excellent read for advanced readers 8+.
RL: 6.3 CSM: 9+ Rating: PG Content: frogs are euthanized and dissected, but not graphically
Pamela S. Turner has an author website with information about her other non-fiction books. Her book, A Life in the Wild, is on my holiday TBR list, which is now larger than Santa’s belly, but not as jiggly.