Reviews: (by author)

Jackson, Donna M. Photos by Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski. Wildlife Detectives: How Forensic Scientists Fight Crimes Against Nature . Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN 0-395-66976-5. $16. Scientists in the Field series.

Reading like a detective story full of anecdotes and lively prose, this non-fiction picturebook is both informative and captivating. The author personalizes her information-we learn about Charger, the biggest elk in Yellowstone, whose death by a poacher's gunshot led to a remarkable investigation based on forensic science. The story of Charger and the arrest of the poachers is the frame for this story, but interpreted throughout are well-designed fact pages about endangered species and the history of the Wildlife Detectives at the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon. Superb photos of scientists at work doing protein analysis, examining bullets with an electron microscope, measuring bear claws, and analyzing DNA samples may well inspire young readers. Photos of endangered animals-elephants, rhinos, sea turtles-and their cruel metamorphosis into herbal viagras, shoes, and jewelry are extremely effective.

Highly recommended.

A. Allison

Back to Reviews G-K