Tales of the Urban Wild: A Puma's Journey

by Tiffany Yap, Meital Smith (Other)

Overview

From conservation scientist Tiffany Yap and artist Meital Smith comes a debut graphic novel sharing the intriguing story of a young puma in central California facing habitat loss, poison, dangerous roads, conflict with farm animals, and wildfire. Unique and multidimensional in its scope, Tales of the Urban Wild: A Puma's Journey has much to inspire and teach us of a future of resilience, coexistence, and hope.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781634050586
Publisher:	Reverberations Books
Publication date:	09/19/2023
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Tiffany Yap is a conservation scientist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a doctorate in environmental science and engineering and has published studies in Science, EcoHealth, and other scientific journals. Her work has been featured in major news outlets, including The New York Times, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR.

Meital Smith is an illustrator and artist from Seattle, Washington. She graduated from Cornish College of the Arts with a BFA in Design in 2021 and is currently pursuing an MAT at the Rhode Island School of Design. Meital's work has appeared in The Lily, and in 2021, she self-published her graphic novella Yesh Lanu Machaneh, which documents her community's experience at her beloved summer camp, Camp Miriam.

Editorial Reviews

2023-08-26
A California mountain lion struggles to weather the hazards of a human world.

Writing discursively, Yap begins with days when bounties were offered in California for large predators, then skips to the present to follow a puma mother as she teaches her cubs to hunt. Later, one is killed trying to cross a highway; the other, trapped and collared by naturalists, survives for several years on the periphery of settled territory, through wildfire and sickness caused by eating poisoned vermin, to reproduce and at last be found dead of unknown causes by hikers. Meanwhile, the crew of wildlife workers (which is racially diverse and includes one hijabi and one Sikh member) gradually features more prominently. They demonstrate various aspects of working with wildlife—from capturing and healing injured animals to educating pet and livestock owners, constructing safer road crossings, and promoting natural pest control. The tale is told in a mix of realistically drawn panels in pale, neutral colors and notebook pages of wildlife observations and facts; there are some mildly disturbing images of half-eaten prey and of animals caught in fences. If the language is occasionally stiff, readers will still come away knowing much more about how pumas live and how to live with them. They will also learn about other wild creatures—for example, beavers and migrating newts—and broad issues in wildlife management.

Rich, wide-ranging reading for budding naturalists. (endnotes) (Graphic nonfiction. 12-14)

Kirkus Reviews