Well written, straight forward biographies of some interesting naturalists. Not overly sentimental- the challenges of their lives are not glossed over, but they are not romanticized either.

As expected, our 2nd grader- the one who can identify half a dozen types of slug in our garden- *loved* this book. What surprised us, though, was that her frilly sister- the one who reckons that gardens are for tea parties- enjoyed the book as well. Don't limit yourself to giving this book to nature-loving girls!

Six women whose interest in nature began as young girls are profiled in short biographies that are interesting and easy to read. The biographies are accompanied by lovely charcoal drawings of each subject engaged in her area of interest as either a young girl or woman or both. The women: Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), Anna Botsford Comstock (1854-1930), Frances Hamerstrom(1907-1998), Rachel Carson (1907-1964), Miriam Rothschild (1908-), and Jane Goodall (1934-) became noted scientists, teachers and authors but some were often discouraged from pursuing their interets. The book highlights each woman's fundamental understanding of the connections between all living things. This book would be an excellent additon to any middle school library .

The story of Mary Anning is certainly not well known, at least in the US and outside of the field of paleantology. This book gives a perspective of what it's like to have a fascination which turns into a career. It is especially encouraging to young women who want to explore a variety of careers.

The illustrations capture a life in England at the sea in the early 1800's. Beautifully done!

With the loving support of her mother, and the admonition of her deceased father to perservere in her quest for "curiosities", Mary Anning went on to discover ancient fossils which earned her the friendship and respect of many well-known scientists of the early 1800s. Christians and Jews will want to change the reference "millions of years" to "thousands" to be in keeping with Biblical creationism, but other than that it is a great book. It is the kind of book a young scientist will read again and again... feeling the cold, salty air as Mary digs in the sand and scrapes at the stones that fall from the cliffs of the shores of Lyme Regis, England. Her relentless curiosity and faithful endurance led to her discovery of what we now call an ichthyosaur... at the age of only eleven!

Atkins and Dooling have created a beautiful picture book that girls and boys will love. Mary Anning's story is becoming more well known now with two other recently released picture books (by Laurence Anholt and Don Brown). Dooling's illustrations are vivid, colorful, real and beautiful!

This book is a plea for an ecological consciousness in regard to the forest. India has its share of tree rustlers, in spite of strict laws, and much irreparable damage is done by irresponsible felling. This story is well written for younger people with good illustrations. It is the story of a girl's fight to save the trees of her village from tree-cutters, and illustrates her and the village's feeling of reverence for the trees upon which they depended. It does represent one aspect of Indian culture (unfortunately, the tree cutters are another aspect) and can well be used as an introduction to village life; it is also interesting from the point of view of the exotic. My own love of the exotic has led me to many places around the world, and I feel that this sense of wonder about the world is a valuable characteristic and very much worth nourishing; this kind of book can encourage dreams.

The incident described, although fictional, is very reminiscent of an actual event that took place in the State of Rajasthan. The Maharaja needed wood for a building project, and sent his men to cut in a forest near a village. The people, who venerated their trees as the suppliers of many things necessary for their lives, literally hugged the trees. Several hundred villagers were killed before the Maharaja's men stopped. The trees, or their descendants, still stand as a testimony to the interdependence of the people and their environment. The villagersare also well-known for providing a refuge for both a kind of antelope and for birds, and for their reluctance to kill anything. Note: the paper and binding are excellent quality. My only complaint, and it is a minor one, is that the tale should have taken place in the desert, where trees are both more valued and more endangered.

Being of Puerto Rican heritage myself, I was excited to read "Get Set! Swim!", a children's book which combines a story by Jeannine Atkins with illustrations by Hector Viveros Lee. The book is about Jessenia, a young girl from the city who is on a swim team. Her mother, who reminisces about her own girlhood in Puerto Rico, is very supportive of Jessenia's athletic activity.

Unfortunately, there is a pronounced "class warfare" element to the book that I disliked. The girls compete against a suburban team. The suburban girls are never developed as real characters; they seem to be nameless symbols of class privelege. The urban girl characters complain about the unfairness of competing with these suburban girls who have better houses and a better pool.

Because there is no interaction between the two teams outside of the water, I found the story unsatisfying. Atkins certainly raises some relevant issues, but seems unwilling to deal with them at a more meaningful level.

A nice story about a child going to a swim meet. She is nervous but participates nevertheless. It teaches about winning and losing and with a hopeful note at the end of doing better next time.

Especially recommend it for young children joining a swim team or learning to swim.

This book is a definite page turner for all adolescents. It establishes the act of courage and demonstrates a positive result when one stays focused. The illustration is parallel to the vivid narration that is used throughout the text.

This book isn't worth reading at all. It got me frusterated the way they talk, the way they think. At times, the book was ok, but not really. Read something else. Anything else. If your obsessed w/ Little Women, then this will probably teach u a little bit more about it, but don't count on it. Don't spend your time or money on this book.