Books in Scientists in the Field series

Asteroids bombard our atmosphere all the time. Some are harmless, burning up in a flash of light. But others explode with a great sonic boom, smashing windows and throwing people to the ground. Worst of all, some asteroids strike our planet, blasting out massive craters and destroying everything nearby on impact. Follow the award-winning author Elizabeth Rusch into the field with scientists as they search for dangerous asteroids in space, study asteroids that have smashed into the ground, and make plans to prevent an asteroid strike if one ever threatens our planet.

A 2007 Sibert Honor Book It looks like a bear, but isn’t one. It climbs trees as easily as a monkey— but isn’t a monkey, either. It has a belly pocket like a kangaroo, but what’s a kangaroo doing up a tree? Meet the amazing Matschie’s tree kangaroo, who makes its home in the ancient trees of Papua New Guinea’s cloud forest. And meet the amazing scientists who track these elusive animals.

A fascinating nonfiction photo essay about the tree-killing Asian long-horned beetle living in our very own backyards. The Asian longhorned beetle came to America from China, living in wood turned into shipping material. At first the beetles invaded urban areas, where hardwood trees were in limited supply—but now there is bad news in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Ontario. Infestations have erupted in hardwood forests, and these beetles are very good at killing trees. Clint McFarland’s job? Stop the ALB at any cost. How do you balance the needs of residents, the environment, and an invasive species primed to wipe out entire forests? It takes the help of everyday people, bug scientists, and tree doctors to eradicate this invasive pest.

Dr. Robert Mason, the current recipient of the National Science Foundation's Young Investigator Award, has been studying a mysterious phenomenon for over fifteen years - one of the most extraordinary events of the natural world - the reemergence from a winter spent in a state of suspended animation in subterranean caverns of tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes - the world's largest concentration of snakes. The work of scientists can often seem mysterious and intimidating to the nonscientist. No longer! Introducing an exciting perspective on the important work of scientists in all areas of research and study. Scientists in the Field show people immersed in the unpredictable and dynamic natural world, making science more accessible, relevant, and exciting to young readers. Far from the research laboratory, these books show first-hand adventures in the great outdoors - adventures with a purpose. From climbing into a snake den with thousands of slithering snakes to tracking wolves

- NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book - New York Times, recommended science books- Children's Literature Choice Book Small is beautiful--or so the bug scientists of the world believe. Insects, they say, boast qualities the rest of us have perhaps overlooked. They are among the earth's best fliers and farmers. They have survived and adapted for 350 million years, whereas we humans have been around for a mere 10,000 years. There are millions upon millions of species yet to be identified. Indeed, insects are perhaps nature's least celebrated but most successful creatures on earth.By following the footsteps of several bug scientists, we take a closer look at the extraordinary bugs that crawl, swim, and whiz past us. We visit the morgue, drop by an outdoor classroom, witness a bug bowl festival--complete with a cricket-spitting contest (yuck!)--and travel to the rain forests of Costa Rica--all in pursuit of a better understanding of bugs, glorious bugs.

- NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book - New York Times, recommended science books- Children's Literature Choice BookSmall is beautiful--or so the bug scientists of the world believe. Insects, they say, boast qualities the rest of us have perhaps overlooked. They are among the earth's best fliers and farmers. They have survived and adapted for 350 million years, whereas we humans have been around for a mere 10,000 years. There are millions upon millions of species yet to be identified. Indeed, insects are perhaps nature's least celebrated but most successful creatures on earth. By following the footsteps of several bug scientists, we take a closer look at the extraordinary bugs that crawl, swim, and whiz past us. We travel from an outdoor classroom in Indiana to the rain forests of Costa Rica--all in pursuit of a better understanding of bugs, glorious bugs.

No one ever thought the Pacific Northwest was due for an earthquake, let alone a catastrophic one. But geologists are transforming our understanding of the grave dangers the population in the region of Cascadia face—will there be a big one? And what can be done to save lives? America's Pacific Northwest has relatively few earthquakes—only a handful each year that cause even moderately noticeable shaking. But a couple decades ago, scientists discovered a geological feature running along the coast that in other parts of the world regularly triggers massive earthquakes of 8.0 magnitude and higher. Were there once massive earthquakes in this part of the world? Geologists think there were. Now a small group of scientists are studying things that you might not think have anything to do with earthquakes—marsh soil, ocean sediments, landslide debris, and ghost forests—and they have reason to believe that the Pacific Northwest is likely not as idyllic as it was once assumed. The population is likely in grave danger of a massive earthquake at some point. What can be done? The big one can't be stopped, but scientists are working tirelessly to learn as much as they can to prepare.

In this addition to the critically acclaimed Scientist in the Field series, Dorothy Patent follows the scientists trying to put a stop to a gruesome disease before it’s too late. Tasmanian devils are dying at an alarming rate from a type of tumor that appears to be contagious. What scientists are learning while researching the Tasmanian devil has potential to affect all animals, and even humans, as they learn more about how to prevent and hopefully eradicate certain genetic diseases. In 1995, a deadly disease began sweeping across the Australian island state of Tasmania, killing every infected Tasmanian devil. The disease moved so fast that some scientists feared the species would be wiped out in the wild within a few decades. Where did this disease, named Devil Facial Tumor Disease, come from? What caused it—a virus, bacteria, or something else? How did it pass from one devil to another? What could be done to fight it? When author Dorothy Hinshaw Patent learned of the race to save the devil from her friend, Australian geneticist Jenny Graves, she felt compelled to travel to Australia to learn firsthand from scientists what they were finding out about these iconic Tasmanian animals and what they were doing to help it from disappearing in the wild. Follow Dorothy as she takes readers on a fascinating journey into the Australian mainland and Tasmania, visiting parks and wildlife refuges and joining geneticist, ecologists, and other researchers as they work tirelessly to save Tasmania’s unique icon.

In Stronger Than Steel, readers enter Randy Lewis' lab where they come face to face with golden orb weaver spiders, and transgenic alfalfa, silkworm silk, and goats, whose milk contains the proteins to spin spider silk--and to weave a nearly indestructible fiber. Learn how this amazing material might someday be used to repair or replace human ligaments and bones, improve body armor, strengthen parachute rope, and even tether an airplane to an aircraft carrier! Readers explore rapid advancements in the application of genetic medicine and their potential to save and improve lives while considering the crucial ethical concerns of genetic research. A timely addition to the acclaimed Scientists in the Field series.

The universe is rapidly expanding. Of that much scientists are certain. But how fast? And with what implications regarding the fate of the universe?Ellen Jackson and Nic Bishop follow Dr. Alex Fillippenko and his High-Z Supernova Search Team to Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, where they will study space phenomena and look for supernovae, dying stars that explode with the power of billions of hydrogen bombs. Dr. Fillippenko looks for black holes--areas in space with such a strong gravitational pull that no matter or energy can escape from them--with his robotic telescope. And they study the effects of dark energy, the mysterious force that scientists believe is pushing the universe apart, causing its constant and accelerating expansion.