Review by Booklist Review
The latest Scientists in the Field entry continues the series' consistently successful approach to giving young enquirers a close look at the natural world and those who study it. Noting that the more than 40 species of sea horse worldwide are all threatened by overfishing and other factors, Turner balances her observations of two biologists who have been instrumental in setting up a Marine Protected Area (MPA) along part of a reef in the Philippines with a profile of one local fisherman and his family who are dependent on the reef's wildlife for their livelihood. Thanks to the fluent, information-rich narrative and to Tuason's engagingly up-close color photos of both human divers and of sea horses and other reef denizens, readers will come away with a much clearer understanding of the sea horse's distinctively oddball biology and also of how one conservation success story hinged on cooperation between scientists and concerned local residents. A perfunctory resource list is the only weakness here.--Peters, John Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-Coral reef destruction from blast fishing, pollution, and dredging threatens many fish, including seahorses. Amazing close-up photos complement explanations of their unusual biology, including that males give birth. Attempts by Filipino scientists and villagers to establish a marine protected area demonstrate the need for cooperative conservation efforts at local, national, and international levels. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In Turner's latest contribution to the Scientists in the Field series, we follow a conservation group -- Project Seahorse -- in their efforts to preserve seahorses, coastal reefs, and the fishing-based livelihood of the residents of Handumon, the Philippines. An entire community participates -- founder-scientists Amanda Vincent and Heather Koldewey, biologists J.R. Dongallo and Mia Comeros, local fisher Rodrigo "Digoy" Paden, and other Handumon residents (including children). Interspersed with the descriptions of the team's scientific and political work are details about seahorses, such as their intriguing parental care, where the male seahorses carry fertilized eggs to term in their pouches. Although our entry point is the delicately appealing seahorses, portrayed beautifully by Tuason's underwater photography, the real story here is the profile of sustainability, as scientists, fishers, and practitioners of traditional medicine align their efforts to preserve the coral reef ecosystems without compromising the livelihoods of people in the Philippines and China. The emphasis on community carries through into the illustrations, which include photographs of all team members -- scientists and fishers alike -- at work, with their families, and together celebrating their accomplishments. danielle j. ford (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
(Nonfiction. 10 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
