CHASING BATS AND TRACKING RATS Urban Ecology, Community Science, and How We Share Our Cities, great message for the 8-and-up crowd

CHASING BATS AND TRACKING RATS Urban Ecology, Community Science, and How We Share Our Cities
CYLITA GUY (illus. Cornelia Li)
Annick Press
$19.95 hardcover, available now

Rating: 5* of fiv

The Publisher Says: Gripping narrative non-fiction with STEM and social justice themes that proves cities can be surprisingly wild places—and why understanding urban nature matters.

What can city bees tell us about climate change? How are we changing coyote behavior? And what the heck is a science bike? Featuring the work of a diverse group of eleven scientists—herself included!—Dr. Cylita Guy shows how studying urban wildlife can help us make cities around the world healthier for all of their inhabitants.

In the process, Guy reveals how social injustices like racism can affect not only how scientists study city wildlife, but also where urban critters are likelier to thrive. Sidebars include intriguing animal facts and the often-wacky tools used by urban ecologists, from a ratmobile to a bug vacuum. Cornelia Li’s engaging illustrations bring the scientists’ fieldwork adventures to life, while urban ecology challenges encourage readers to look for signs of wildlife in their own neighborhoods.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Another book whose worldview and frame of reference I share, so I strongly recommend to you. This is #Booksgiving. We need young people...grandkid age for most of us, from 8 on up...to reframe their relationship with the urban world they live in. The best way to do that is to say, "you know how rats are talked bad and mean about? Here are some facts that you need to know about rats:"

...and lo! There's a fact file in front of the hateful messaging that has led to vital ecological members being abused and eliminated, with all the problems that always brings. (Remember what happened when we slaughtered the wolves in Yellowstone? Let's learn from our mistakes and pass it on to the kids whose world this is.)

Dr. Guy doesn't stint on the role of social oppression and stigmatization in the urban environmental crisis. We should all be scared about the bees being in ill health. Urban areas have, and need, bees as well as the countryside. The ways to help bees navigate the urban landscape, and what to look for in a healthy urban ecology, could stand explaining:

A good book filled with the right kind of ideas about the world, its problems, and the best solutions we can think up to those problems. (In my opinion, of course.)

Great #Booksgiving gift for the still-single-digit aged budding scientist, or garden lover, or really anyone at all in that age range.