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A review by corncobwebs
The Case of the Vanishing Little Brown Bats: A Scientific Mystery by Sandra Markle
But the biggest motivation [to keep researching and writing] is that the world is full of science mysteries that need tackling. Any of you readers could grow up to be part of the next generation of science detectives. Then you too could be working to make this world a better place for all Earth's animals, including little brown bats.
I'm a big fan of Markle's "Case of the Vanishing..." series. For people like me (who think science is awesome but aren't naturally inclined to be scientists), framing the book like a mystery makes it really interesting and grasp-able. I particularly liked this book because there's a clear-cut answer as to why the little brown bats are dying out -- in Markle's other book about bees, the mystery was never fully solved, and I didn't really like that. But the best part about this book is how it makes science accessible and interesting, which will hopefully inspire lots of kids to become scientists themselves. As Markle says, there are lots of scientific mysteries that need solving, so the more scientists, the better.
My only reservation about this book (or maybe it's not about the book, but about the scientific process in general) is I wish there had been more emphasis on caring for the bats throughout the course of solving the mystery. There's lots of talk about studying bats in various stages of fungal infection, which includes taking tissue samples, affixing tracking devices, etc. These methods all seem kind of cruel to me, and it sends the message that it's OK to sacrifice individual bats for the good of the species. I guess there's some truth in this line of thinking, but I think it's important to care for the bats that are being studied, too -- and to show this caring, humane approach. Lots of kids who read books like this are animal lovers, and might find it upsetting that bats are sacrificed in the name of science. Then again, I'm a huge animal lover myself, so maybe I'm just projecting my personal feelings on the intended audience.
Overall, though, this is an engaging, well-researched, and well-presented book that belongs in most (if not all) library collections. With Halloween coming up, it would be a great addition to a book display about bats.
I'm a big fan of Markle's "Case of the Vanishing..." series. For people like me (who think science is awesome but aren't naturally inclined to be scientists), framing the book like a mystery makes it really interesting and grasp-able. I particularly liked this book because there's a clear-cut answer as to why the little brown bats are dying out -- in Markle's other book about bees, the mystery was never fully solved, and I didn't really like that. But the best part about this book is how it makes science accessible and interesting, which will hopefully inspire lots of kids to become scientists themselves. As Markle says, there are lots of scientific mysteries that need solving, so the more scientists, the better.
My only reservation about this book (or maybe it's not about the book, but about the scientific process in general) is I wish there had been more emphasis on caring for the bats throughout the course of solving the mystery. There's lots of talk about studying bats in various stages of fungal infection, which includes taking tissue samples, affixing tracking devices, etc. These methods all seem kind of cruel to me, and it sends the message that it's OK to sacrifice individual bats for the good of the species. I guess there's some truth in this line of thinking, but I think it's important to care for the bats that are being studied, too -- and to show this caring, humane approach. Lots of kids who read books like this are animal lovers, and might find it upsetting that bats are sacrificed in the name of science. Then again, I'm a huge animal lover myself, so maybe I'm just projecting my personal feelings on the intended audience.
Overall, though, this is an engaging, well-researched, and well-presented book that belongs in most (if not all) library collections. With Halloween coming up, it would be a great addition to a book display about bats.