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Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa's Fastest Cats
Author:
Montgomery, Sy
Illustrator:
Bishop, Nic
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Series:
Scientists in the field
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Class:
599.759
Age: 10-14
Language: English
Demand: Moderate
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LC: QL737.C2
Grade: 5-9
Print Run: 20000
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ISBN-13: 9780547815497
LCCN: 2013017611
Imprint: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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Pub Date: 04/01/2014
Availability: Available
List: $18.99
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Hardcover
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Physical Description:
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1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 24 x 29 cm.
H 9",
W 11",
D 0.59",
1.34 lbs.
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LC Series:
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Scientists in the field
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Brodart Sources:
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Brodart's Children and Teen Nonfiction Picks
Brodart's Insight Catalog: Teen
Brodart's TOP Young Adult Titles
Brodart's YA Reads for Adults
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Bibliographies:
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Children's Core Collection, 22nd ed.
Children's Core Collection, 23rd ed.
Children's Core Collection, 24th ed.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 12th ed.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 13th ed.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 14th ed.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 15th ed.
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Awards:
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Horn Book Guide Titles, Rated 1 - 4
Kirkus Starred Reviews
Notable Children's Books, ALA
Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12
School Library Journal Starred Reviews
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Starred Reviews:
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Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal
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TIPS Subjects:
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Animals
Ecology/Environment
Africa
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BISAC Subjects: |
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Animals / Cats
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Animals / Endangered
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Animals / Jungle Animals
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Careers
JUVENILE NONFICTION / History / Africa
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Places / Africa
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Science & Nature / Environmental Conservation & Protection
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LC Subjects:
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Cheetah
Cheetah Conservation Fund
Cheetah Conservation Fund, Juvenile literature
Cheetah, Africa
Cheetah, Africa, Juvenile literature
Cheetah, Juvenile literature
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SEARS Subjects: |
Cheetah Conservation Fund
Cheetah, Africa
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Reading Programs: |
Accelerated Reader Level:
6.5
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Points: 3.0
Lexile Level:
1000
Reading Counts Level:
8.5
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Points: 6.0
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| Annotations |
| Brodart's TOP Young Adult Titles | 04/01/2014 |
| To save the fastest land animal on Earth, we must first find them. Readers join an African expedition to find and rescue the cheetah as they discover the cheetah's crucial role in the delicate ecosystem that needs this sometimes misunderstood creature. Scientists in the field series, 80pp., Color Photos |
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| Starred Reviews: |
| Kirkus Reviews | 02/15/2014 |
| A trusted pair of wildlife observers introduce Namibian cheetahs and a woman who has taken on the responsibility for saving them. Montgomery and Bishop draw readers into the setting from the very beginning with a map, description and photographs of the Namibian savanna where Laurie Marker founded the Cheetah Conservation Fund 20 years ago. There, in an area that is now part of a large nature conservancy, scientists and students take in rescued cheetah orphans, provide sanctuary, return most to the wild, and demonstrate ways farmers and cheetahs can live in harmony. Dogs and goats are key. The CCF raises and sells Kangal dogs, a breed large enough to guard goats, sheep and cattle from large predators. They raise goats, too, to use in training the dogs and Namibians who want to learn to farm. Like many of the best titles in this series, this focuses on a single scientist and her work, describes how she got there, what she does, the tools she uses and why her work is important. As always, young people are included in the story--here, visiting U.S. high school seniors who participate in a wildlife census. Bishop's stunning cheetah photographs will draw readers into this appealing and balanced picture of a conservationist at work. Another winning combination of elegant design, thoughtful organization and fascinating information. (bibliography, resources, index) (Nonfiction. 10-15). 80pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2014. |
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| School Library Journal | 05/01/2014 |
| Gr 6-8--Cheetahs, the smallest of the big cats, are superbly adapted to their habitat and to running down their prey with blinding bursts of speed. Here Montgomery focuses her scientific attention and literary craft on the work of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and its efforts to save the cheetah from threatened extinction. Quartered in Namibia, CCF director Laurie Marker and her team analyze scat, measure trees where cheetahs congregate, collect DNA to follow genetic lines, breed cheetahs for ultimate release in the wild, and rescue these animals from captivity when possible. Another major thrust is educating farmers, herders, and future farmers/herders (children) in how to coexist with a large predator that often prefers wild meat to domestic animals. To this concern, CCF breeds large Kangal guard dogs and sells them (at low cost) to herdsmen. Montogomery's lucid prose flows smoothly, and Bishop's elegant color photos bring it all into crystal focus. Interspersed with the narrative are information pages on specific topics, such as "Secrets of DNA" and "Taking the Measure of a Tree." Similar in scope to this team's excellent The Tapir Scientist (2013) and Kakapo Rescue (both Houghton, 2010), this is a readable, informative, and elegant book on an equally elegant feline. Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY. 80p. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2014. |
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| Journal Reviews |
| Booklist | 05/15/2014 |
| Grades 5-8. The latest entry in the Scientists in the Field series finds award-winning collaborators Montgomery and Bishop visiting a cheetah reclamation preserve in Tanzania for close-up looks at how orphaned or injured animals are rescued, nurtured, and prepared (when possible) for release back into the wild. Along with sharp views of the facility's experts and student volunteers working with cheetahs and taking general wildlife counts, Bishop provides plenty of stunning cheetah photography--both full-body and head shots--to beautifully complement Montgomery's detailed descriptions of daily routines, research projects, and medical procedures. The text also extends its coverage of wildlife conservation issues in explanations of how the facility's passionately dedicated head, Laurie Marker, works to turn local herders from being part of the problem to becoming part of the solution by working to save these beautiful, threatened creatures. This is yet another engaging, well-designed entry into an essential series. Peters, John. 80p. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2014. |
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| Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books | 05/01/2014 |
| R. Gr. 4-7. The scientists are back in the field again, in another outing by the illustrious Montgomery and Bishop partnership. This time they're in Namibia at the African headquarters of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, where staff both study and advocate for cheetahs; their work includes reintegrating cheetahs into the wild, housing cheetahs unable to fend for themselves, researching wild cheetah habits, and partnering with farmers on ways to defend their flocks from cheetahs without harming them. The title focuses largely on the current mission of the CCF, immersing readers, like Montgomery and Bishop, among the cheetahs and adding a touch of plot trajectory in the story of Hi-Fi, a wild cheetah who's fascinated with the animals at the facility. Activist readers will be intrigued to hear about the American high-schoolers doing volunteer work on a class trip to Namibia, but there are plenty of other kinds of jobs woven into the process as well that will, in keeping with the series' practice, offer some possibilities for scientific work that young people may not have realized. Bishop's photographs can't capture the cheetahs' blinding speed, but the cats' movie-star glamour is on prominent display, especially in a few breathtaking extreme closeups; pictures of other local wildlife--a nervy hornbill, a crowd of inquisitive mongoose--add atmosphere and convey the richness of the local ecosystem. Interspersed special features ("The Crucial Role of Predators") and fact sheets ("Cheetahs by the Numbers") provide crisply focused informative overviews, while those looking to see a cheetah run will be amused by the flip-book art sequence in the book's corner. End matter includes a short bibliography and info about the CCF's website, including volunteer opportunities, as well as a (somewhat eccentric) index. DS. 77p. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIV. OF ILLINOIS, c2014. |
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| Horn Book | 05/01/2014 |
| Intermediate, Middle School. Montgomery introduces readers to Laurie Marker and her team of conservationists, scientists, students, and animals at the Cheetah Conservation Fund's site in Namibia. The book opens with the remarkable description and sight (thanks to Bishop's outstanding photographs) of Marker, accompanied by Tiger Lily, a cheetah who has spent her life at the CCF as an "ambassador." Marker's dedication to saving the endangered cheetah population is readily apparent; she has spent decades in research and outreach, using creative techniques to further the aims of the CCF. Indeed, the science in this volume of the series is more applied than in others: Marker's team engages in everything from assistance to farmers in the form of goat-raising techniques and herding dogs (to prevent cheetah shootings), to presentations in local schools, to DNA testing in support of diversification in the cheetah genetic pool. Throughout, scientific information about the cheetahs and profiles of the people who study and live with them is interspersed with in-the-moment, journal-style accounts of Montgomery's day-to-day activities at the site, especially in pursuit of an elusive wild cheetah that frequents the area. Striking photographs of the cheetahs, the people and landscape of Namibia, and the conservationists fully capture the dedication of these scientists and the awesome power of the cheetahs. Appended with a brief bibliography and an index. danielle j. ford. 79pg. THE HORN BOOK, c2014. |
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| Horn Book Guide | 11/01/2014 |
| 2. 4-6. Montgomery introduces readers to Laurie Marker and her team at the Cheetah Conservation Fund's site in Namibia. Scientific information about the cheetahs and profiles of the people who study them are interspersed with in-the-moment, journal-style accounts of activities at the site. Striking photographs capture the dedication of the scientists and the awesome power of the cheetahs. Bib., ind. djf. 79pg. THE HORN BOOK, c2014. |
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9780547815497,dl.it[0].title
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