The Great Bear Rescue: Saving the Gobi Bears

by Sandra Markle

Overview

Acclaimed science author Sandra Markle offers a fascinating look at Gobi bears—the rarest bears on the planet. These adorable animals face threats ranging from illegal gold miners to climate change. Find out more about these bears, which are considered a national treasure in Mongolia, and learn what scientists are doing to help this critically endangered species.

"Markle clearly and efficiently introduces a bear unfamiliar to most North American readers . . . Not a story of salvation but a work in progress, ably explained."—starred, Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541581258
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Series:	Sandra Markle's Science Discoveries
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	10 - 11 Years

About the Author

Sandra Markle is the author of numerous award-winning books for children. A former elementary science teacher, she is a nationally-known science education consultant. Markle has received many honors for her series Animal Predators, Animal Scavengers, and Animal Prey. Several titles have been named as National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)/Children’s Book Council (CBC) Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12, and Animal Predators was honored as a Top 10 Youth Nonfiction Series by Booklist.

Markle is also the author of the Insect World series and several single titles. Her book Rescues! was named a Best Book by the Society of School Librarians International and a Recommended Title of Outstanding Nonfiction by the National Council of Teachers of English’s (NCTE) Orbis Pictus Award committee; Animal Heroes was named a 2008 Lasting Connections title by Book Links. Markle lives in Lakewood Ranch, Florida with her husband, photographer Skip Jeffery.

Editorial Reviews

"Markle clearly and efficiently introduces a bear unfamiliar to most North American readers . . . Not a story of salvation but a work in progress, ably explained."—starred, Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

★ 2020-06-30
A highly endangered strain of grizzly bears, protected and supported by the Mongolian government in their Gobi Desert home, may slowly be coming back.

Markle clearly and efficiently introduces a bear unfamiliar to most North American readers, its equally unfamiliar environment, and an international effort to save a species. Her long experience in writing about science for young readers shows in the careful crafting and pacing of her exposition. She frames her narrative with an individual bear’s difficult choice: between feared humans and essential water. She provides the necessary background (including three helpful maps), describing the bears, their desert world, and the international team of Mongolian and Western researchers and citizens who have worked to preserve habitat and provide food. Thoughtful design helps readers track the exposition and identify the side topics. Well-chosen and -captioned photographs from a variety of sources show the bears, other native wildlife, researchers, local farmers and children, and even the “ninja miners” (as they’re known in Mongolia) whose illegal search for gold threatens the progress that’s been made to save a species uniquely adapted for this harsh environment. (There may be only 40 Gobi bears remaining.) The writer concludes with a quote from scientist Harry Reynolds (a White American researcher), who describes his work as “continuing to give the bears a chance,” and a single page reminding readers that “Polar Bears Need Help Too.” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.75-by-19.5-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Not a story of salvation but a work in progress, ably explained. (author's note, timeline, glossary, source notes, further information, index, photo acknowledgments) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews