Books with author Rachel Mazur

“Racing with Butterflies is engaging, fun to read, and accurate in its depiction of monarch natural history—it will draw in young readers while helping them understand why we should all care for monarchs.”—Dr. Scott Black, executive director, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Will Tai’s horse ride in the rodeo? Tai and his horse, Dune, are preparing for a rodeo competition. When Dune mysteriously becomes ill, a neighbor blames the milkweed plants in Tai’s pasture and tells Tai he must remove them. When Tai learns that monarch butterflies—including one he named Dana—depend on the plants, he becomes conflicted. How can he save both Dune and the monarchs? Things get even more complicated when Tai’s mother visits. Are his parents getting back together? As Tai struggles to save Dune, the butterflies, and his family, he learns relationships aren’t as simple as he’d thought.

“The Everywhere Bear is a wonderful recipe for inspiring youth to learn about the wild animals that live amongst us—and the simple steps we can take to keep them safe.”—Bryan Peterson, executive director, Bear Smart Durango Will Brooke kick her candy habit? When Brooke’s eyesight gets blurry, her skin breaks out, and her energy lags, she shrugs it off. Her eating habits might not be the greatest, but she can’t imagine giving up sweets. Meanwhile, an animal starts tipping over trash cans at night, and Brooke and her Nature Club friends hatch a plan to find the culprit. They are surprised by what they find—and even more surprised to learn Brooke is partly to blame. As Brooke’s story unfolds—along with that of an animal she names Ocho—she learns that by taking a few simple actions, one can start to break bad habits. With her Nature Club friends, Brooke vows to improve her own health while protecting local wildlife.

1st Place Winner of the 2019 Purple Dragonfly Award for green/environmental books. "Taking Flight makes learning fun; it conveys important biological concepts by relating them to personal experiences. It’s brilliant!” —Joni Ellis, founder and director, Optics for the Tropics. Will Izzy make friends in her new school? Izzy’s family is moving to a big city at the end of the summer, and she is filled with dread. She’ll start fifth grade at a new school where she doesn’t know anyone. Meanwhile, a bird she names Señor Wilson also faces a big move. He’ll soon migrate south for the winter—a journey full of peril. As Izzy’s adventure unfolds in parallel with Señor Wilson’s, it seems Izzy’s worst fears may come true. It’s only by finding her inner courage—with a little help from her friends in the Nature Club—that Izzy can find her wings and truly take off.

"Taking Flight makes learning fun; it conveys important biological concepts by relating them to personal experiences. It’s brilliant!” —Joni Ellis, founder and director, Optics for the TropicsWill Izzy make friends in her new school? Izzy’s family is moving to a big city at the end of the summer, and she is filled with dread. She’ll start fifth grade at a new school where she doesn’t know anyone. Meanwhile, a bird she names Señor Wilson also faces a big move. He’ll soon migrate south for the winter—a journey full of peril. As Izzy’s adventure unfolds in parallel with Señor Wilson’s, it seems Izzy’s worst fears may come true. It’s only by finding her inner courage—with a little help from her friends in the Nature Club—that Izzy can find her wings and truly take off.

“Racing with Butterflies is engaging, fun to read, and accurate in its depiction of monarch natural history—it will draw in young readers while helping them understand why we should all care for monarchs.”—Dr. Scott Black, executive director, Xerces Society for Invertebrate ConservationWill Tai’s horse ride in the rodeo? Tai and his horse, Dune, are preparing for a rodeo competition. When Dune mysteriously becomes ill, a neighbor blames the milkweed plants in Tai’s pasture and tells Tai he must remove them. When Tai learns that monarch butterflies—including one he named Dana—depend on the plants, he becomes conflicted. How can he save both Dune and the monarchs? Things get even more complicated when Tai’s mother visits. Are his parents getting back together? As Tai struggles to save Dune, the butterflies, and his family, he learns relationships aren’t as simple as he’d thought.

“The Everywhere Bear is a wonderful recipe for inspiring youth to learn about the wild animals that live amongst us—and the simple steps we can take to keep them safe.”—Bryan Peterson, executive director, Bear Smart Durango. Will Brooke kick her candy habit? When Brooke’s eyesight gets blurry, her skin breaks out, and her energy lags, she shrugs it off. Her eating habits might not be the greatest, but she can’t imagine giving up sweets. Meanwhile, an animal starts tipping over trash cans at night, and Brooke and her Nature Club friends hatch a plan to find the culprit. They are surprised by what they find—and even more surprised to learn Brooke is partly to blame. As Brooke’s story unfolds—along with that of an animal she names Ocho—she learns that by taking a few simple actions, one can start to break bad habits. With her Nature Club friends, Brooke vows to improve her own health while protecting local wildlife.

“In this captivating journey of discovery, we learn the importance of treading lightly on this planet so we don’t cause harm to our wild neighbors.” —Beth Pratt, California director, National Wildlife FederationThe night Miguel arrives to visit his Nature Club friends, he gets a rare glimpse of a bobcat. When he sees the bobcat again the next day, he excitedly names it Clementine, but notices it looks thin, tired, and unhealthy. After accidentally kicking his soccer ball into a neighbor’s shed, he figures out why. Miguel and his friends send the bobcat to a wildlife rehabilitator, but Miguel wishes he could make a wider impact than on just one animal. As Clementine recovers, Miguel and his Nature Club friends learn we are all connected through a complex web of life, and through it, we have the opportunity to make a world of difference.

“In this captivating journey of discovery, we learn the importance of treading lightly on this planet so we don’t cause harm to our wild neighbors.” —Beth Pratt, California director, National Wildlife Federation. The night Miguel arrives to visit his Nature Club friends, he gets a rare glimpse of a bobcat. When he sees the bobcat again the next day, he excitedly names it Clementine, but notices it looks thin, tired, and unhealthy. After accidentally kicking his soccer ball into a neighbor’s shed, he figures out why. Miguel and his friends send the bobcat to a wildlife rehabilitator, but Miguel wishes he could make a wider impact than on just one animal. As Clementine recovers, Miguel and his Nature Club friends learn we are all connected through a complex web of life, and through it, we have the opportunity to make a world of difference.

“Making a Splash will make a fabulous, educational read for any young person interested in wildlife and the outdoors.”—Dr. Kerry Kriger, founder and executive director, Save the Frogs!Is the swim-a-thon doomed? When Zack falls off a ladder and breaks his arm, the worst part isn’t his injury—it’s missing the Nature Club’s upcoming swim-a-thon. Stuck sitting by the creek while the others practice their strokes, Zack discovers a froglet with a damaged limb and names him Rana. Zack and his friends spring into action to help the froglet, only to discover more and more human-made hazards for the little frogs. As Zack’s story unfolds in parallel with Rana’s, he learns how important it is to care for the environment. In the end, Zack and his friends from the Nature Club plot out how to do exactly that—for the frog and themselves.

“Making a Splash will make a fabulous, educational read for any young person interested in wildlife and the outdoors.”—Dr. Kerry Kriger, founder and executive director, Save the Frogs! Is the swim-a-thon doomed? When Zack falls off a ladder and breaks his arm, the worst part isn’t his injury—it’s missing the Nature Club’s upcoming swim-a-thon. Stuck sitting by the creek while the others practice their strokes, Zack discovers a froglet with a damaged limb and names him Rana. Zack and his friends spring into action to help the froglet, only to discover more and more human-made hazards for the little frogs. As Zack’s story unfolds in parallel with Rana’s, he learns how important it is to care for the environment. In the end, Zack and his friends from the Nature Club plot out how to do exactly that—for the frog and themselves.

As majestic as they are dangerous, and as timeless as they are current, bears continue to captivate readers. Speaking of Bears is not your average collection of stories. Rather it is the history, compiled from interviews with over 100 individuals, of how Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks, all in California’s Sierra Nevada, created a human-bear problem so bad that there were eventually over 2,000 incidents in a single year. It then describes the pivotal moments during which park employees used trial-and-error, conducted research, invented devices, collaborated with other parks, and found funding to get the crisis back under control. Speaking of Bears is for bear lovers, national park buffs, historians, wildlife managers, biologists, policy and grant-makers, and anyone who wants to know the who, what, where, when, and why of what once was a serious human-bear problem, and the path these parks took to correct it.Although these Sierran parks had some of the worst black bear problems in the country, hosted much of the research, and invented the bulk of the technological solutions, they were not the only ones. For that reason, intertwining stories from several other parks including Yellowstone, the Great Smoky Mountains, and Banff-Canada are included. For anyone seeking solutions to human-wildlife conflicts throughout the world, the lessons-learned are invaluable and widely applicable.