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Heather L. Montgomery is passionate about nature, discovery, and the scientific process. An author and master teacher, she uses curiosity and yuck-appeal to engage young minds. Her many science books include Bugs Don't Hug- Six-Legged Parents and Their Kids and Something Rotten- A Fresh Look at Roadkill. Heather has a BS in biology and an MS in environmental education. When she's not writing, she can be found climbing a tree, wading knee-deep in a creek, or collecting natural treasures with kids in beautiful Alabama. As a child, Maribel Lechuga spent every quiet hour of the day drawing. She studied illustration in art school in Madrid and is now the illustrator of many children's books, including Ten Beautiful Things and Seaside Stroll. Maribel loves the environment and animals and recharges her batteries by hiking through the Spanish hills. www.maribellechuga.com
If you're a child who collects nature's treasures, you're in good company. This cleverly conceived and appealingly executed title addresses young readers directly, connecting their noticing and collecting habits to those of others who continued to observe, collect, and organize in adulthood. Montgomery introduces a grandly diverse array of nine naturalists, researchers, and explorers from Maria Sibylla Merian, who studied butterflies in the 17th century, to Bonnie Lei, whose present-day research focuses on sea-life conservation. Three are people of color, and the majority are female. The young George Washington Carver collected seed pods; deep-sea explorer William Beebe collected birds' eggs; and young Jane Goodall put worms under her pillow! Other profiles include Charles Darwin, tree-canopy explorer Margaret Lowman, herpetologist Diego Cisneros-Heredia, and fossil hunter Mary Anning. The vignettes from childhood are engaging, well paced, and smoothly told. Short introductions to the adult scientists follow, in a smaller font. In her author's note, the writer introduces the concept of naturalist intelligence. Lechuga's friendly illustrations feature the brown-skinned girl with Afro puffs and overflowing pockets shown on the cover as well as the scientists as children, then as adults, in appropriate times and places. The backmatter includes more about the grown-up scientists and the author's own sensible rules for collecting, which involve respect for nature, the people she lives with, and herself (safety). The illustrator reminds readers that habits of observation are something she also shares with scientists. Inspiration for nature-loving children. --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
