With an effective mix of facts and conjecture, Hoose conveys B95's wide experience, from the challenges of his first month in Arctic Canada 20 years ago to the physical demands of flying for three days straight. Hoose's vivid prose and the book's close-up photos give a sense of other red-knot talents, like fattening up for a long flight and sleeping while staying alert for predators.

National Book Award–winner Hoose (Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice) introduces readers to the small rufa red knot shorebird known as B95, which makes an 18,000-mile migratory circuit from the bottom of the world to the top and back again each year. “Something about this bird was exceptional; he seemed to possess some extraordinary combination of physical toughness, navigational skill, judgment, and luck,” writes Hoose. Eight chapters offer an extraordinarily detailed look at everything red knot, from a description of its migratory paths and the food found at each stopover to the physiology of its bill and factors that threaten the species with extinction. Profiles of bird scientists or activists conclude most chapters. The information-packed narrative jumps between past and present as it follows a postulated migration of B95, accompanied by numerous sidebars, diagrams, maps, and full-color photographs. Readers will appreciate Hoose’s thorough approach in contextualizing this amazing, itinerant creature that was last spotted in 2011. Those motivated to action will find an appendix of ways to get involved. An index, extensive source notes, and bibliography are included. Ages 10–up. (July)

[A] deeply researched, engaging account…” —School Library Journal, starred

“Putting an actual beaked face to the problem of animal endangerment makes the story of the species' peril all the more compelling, and only the truly hard of heart could resist cheering for B95 to make it through one more trip.” —BCCB, Starred

“With an effective mix of facts and conjecture, Hoose conveys B95's wide experience, from the challenges of his first month in Arctic Canada 20 years ago to the physical demands of flying for three days straight. Hoose's vivid prose and the book's close-up photos give a sense of other red-knot talents, like fattening up for a long flight and sleeping while staying alert for predators. And there's recent good news: B95 was photographed in late May, feasting on horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware Bay. ” —The Washington Post

“Hoose's fascinating account concerns much more than this one bird.” —Horn Book, starred

“...beautiful and vivid…” —VOYA

“Hoose's stature as a preeminent nonfiction author combined with the high-interest animal hook will generate hearty attention and enthusiasm for this one.” —Booklist, starred

“Readers will appreciate Hoose's thorough approach in contextualizing this amazing, itinerant creature…” —Publishers Weekly, starred

“Meticulously researched and told with inspiring prose and stirring images, this is a gripping, triumphant story of science and survival. ” —Kirkus, starred

Before devouring Phillip Hoose’s The Race To Save the Lord God Bird in 2004, this reader had no idea how compelling a book about a bird could be. In Race To Save, the author described the tragedy of a species’ extinction. In this year’s Moonbird, Hoose again tells a riveting story of avian survival, this time through the lens of a single bird, tagged B95, who has flown enough miles in its 20 year lifetime to have gone to the moon, and halfway back. B95 is a rufa, a shorebird, who migrates from South America to the Canadian Arctic. His survival is all the more amazing because during his lifetime, his species’ numbers have been reduced by 80 percent owing to human activity. A beautiful and engaging story of a bird that is so much more than meets the eye.

(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 6 Up—Phillip Hoose describes a year in the life of a rufa red knot (shorebird)—how they fatten themselves during the Argentinean winters, fly to the Canadian arctic to breed, and mate and raise their young in the far north before making the long trip back to Tierra del Fuego in the fall. He offers, in sidebars, short profiles of biologists who study these birds, descriptions of specific environments, and portraits of ecological programs that work to protect shorebirds. Hoose paints a fascinating portrait of one tough little red knot called B95, who is probably almost 20 years old. It is highly unusual for a wild bird to survive for so long, especially one who migrates almost 18,000 miles each year. B95 has been nicknamed "Moonbird" since he has flown the distance to the moon and part way back. Hoose reads his own book (Farrar, Straus, 2012) in a clear, friendly voice, easily conveying emotions and animating the text. Have the book available so listeners can peruse the many wonderful photographs as well as the URLs of many interesting websites since the recitation of this information is not the most effective means of presentation. A delightful audiobook.—Geri Diorio, Ridgefield Library, CT

Gr 6 Up—Moonbird is a nickname scientists have given to a small Eastern shorebird known for both his unusually long life and his enormously long annual migration. Hoose intertwines the story of this bird's remarkable survival with detailed accounts of the rufa red knot's physical changes through its yearlong cycle of migrating from the bottom of the world (usually Tierra del Fuego) to its Arctic breeding grounds and back again at summer's end-a round trip of some 18,000 miles. Moonbird, known usually by the identifying label "B95" on his orange leg band, was first banded in 1995, when it was thought that he was at least three years old, and Hoose notes sightings of him through early 2011 just as the book was reaching completion. At that point it was estimated that over 20 years' time, B95 had flown "more than 325,000 miles in his life-the distance to the moon and nearly halfway back." The feat is particularly celebrated among bird scientists because this species is rapidly declining as humans use and misuse its feeding grounds and food supply. The threatened state of the species and the personal work being done by scientists and conservationists are strong themes throughout the book. Hoose describes his own experiences participating in study trips and introduces children and teens engaged in study, conservation, and lobbying projects in Canada, the United States, and Argentina. This deeply researched, engaging account is a substantial and well-designed package of information illustrated with handsome color photographs, ample maps, appended descriptions of the conservation work, and thorough source notes.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

This book tells the story of a year in the remarkable life of “B95,” a rufa red knot shorebird that has been circumnavigating the globe for two decades. Describing B95 as the “toughest four ounces of life” on earth, author Phillip Hoose has woven an exciting, fact-filled tale of survival that educates and inspires listeners to consider the interconnectedness of human, animal, and plant life. Full of detailed information about bird migration, climate, geography, and natural science, the interplay of story and background information is well balanced by Hoose's even pacing and clear announcements of section breaks. B95 has many champions, including Hoose himself, whose impassioned narration often reveals a genuine sense of awe at B95's endurance despite significant ongoing changes to its ecosystem. A.S. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

As he did in The Race to Save the Lord God Bird (2004), Hoose explores the tragedy of extinction through a single bird species, but there is hope for survival in this story, and that hope is pinned on understanding the remarkable longevity of a single bird. B95 is a 4-ounce, robin-sized shorebird, a red knot of the subspecies rufa. Each February he joins a flock that lifts off from Tierra del Fuego and heads for breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic, 9,000 miles away. Late in the summer, he begins the return journey. Scientists call him Moonbird because, in the course of his astoundingly long lifetime of nearly 20 years, he has flown the distance to the moon and halfway back. B95 can fly for days without eating or sleeping but eventually must land to refuel and rest. Recent changes, however, at refueling stations along his migratory circuit, most caused by human activity, have reduced the available food. Since 1995, when B95 was captured and banded, the rufa population has collapsed by nearly 80 percent. Scientists want to know why this one bird survives year after year when so many others do not. In a compelling, vividly detailed narrative, Hoose takes readers around the hemisphere, showing them the obstacles rufa red knots face, introducing a global team of scientists and conservationists, and offering insights about what can be done to save them before it's too late. Meticulously researched and told with inspiring prose and stirring images, this is a gripping, triumphant story of science and survival. (photographs, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10 & up)