A Passion for Elephants: The Real Life Adventure of Field Scientist Cynthia Moss

by Toni Buzzeo, Holly Berry (Illustrator)

Overview

A science and nature biography of Cynthia Moss, the elephant expert, by the author of Caldecott Honor book One Cool Friend

Cynthia Moss was never afraid of BIG things. As a kid, she loved to ride through the countryside on her tall horse. She loved to visit faraway places. And she especially loved to learn about nature and the world around her. So when Cynthia traveled to Africa and met the world’s most ENORMOUS land animal, the African elephant, at Amboseli National Park in Kenya, she knew she had found her life’s work.

Cynthia has spent years learning everything she can about elephants and sharing these fascinating creatures with the world. She is a scientist, nature photographer, and animal-rights activist, fighting against the ivory poachers who kill so many elephants for their tusks.

This lyrical and accessible picture book gives kids a glimpse of what scientists do in the real world and inspires them to dream of accomplishing BIG things.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399186004
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/29/2015
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	118 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Toni Buzzeo, a former teacher and media specialist, is now a full time author with many picture books to her credit, including Adventure Annie Goes to Kindergarten, The Sea Chest, and the Caldecott Honor winner One Cool Friend. She and her husband, Ken, divide their time between Sarasota, Florida and Buxton, Maine.

Holly Berry is a printmaker and acclaimed illustrator of a number of picture books, including Colorful Dreamer, How Mama Brought the Spring (a Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book) and The Impudent Rooster (a Society of Illustrators Original Art Silver Medalist). She received her BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and now lives in Waldoboro, Maine.

Editorial Reviews

07/20/2015
Buzzeo offers a glowing biography of Cynthia Moss, a field scientist and activist who has been studying and advocating for Africa’s elephants for more than 40 years. Moving briskly through Moss’s childhood love of animals, Buzzeo focuses on Moss’s long, hard work of studying elephants as well as her efforts to fight ivory poaching. Variations on a refrain (“It was a big challenge, but Cynthia Moss wasn’t afraid of big things”) strike an oddly juvenile note, given the harsh realities of the ivory trade and the book’s scientific focus, but it still drives home the message about taking on important, difficult tasks and causes. Berry’s mixed-media illustrations do an admirable job of capturing the African landscape—and animals—that have captivated Moss. Ages 5–8. Author’s agent: Stefanie Von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. Illustrator’s agency: Studio Goodwin Sturges. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for A Passion for Elephants

An NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12

"Buzzeo's text is . . . enthusiastic and will hold strong readers’ interest, especially alongside Berry's vibrant art. The illustrations make use of African motifs—rendered in bold reds, yellows, and greens—and capture the joys and sorrows of Moss’ work with the African elephants."—Booklist

"[Buzzeo] introduces a real-life elephant scientist who has combined her passion for studying these big animals with activism around the world for a big cause: banning the sale of ivory."—Kirkus Reviews

"Drives home the message about taking on important, difficult tasks and causes."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2015-06-06
A childhood love of horses translates into an adult career devoted to learning about and promoting protection for African elephants. For 40 years, field scientist Cynthia Moss has lived with and studied the elephants of Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Buzzeo, who focused on a fictional elephant calf in My Bibi Always Remembers, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka (2014), here introduces a real-life elephant scientist who has combined her passion for studying these big animals with activism around the world for a big cause: banning the sale of ivory. Choosing details young readers will understand, the author moves quickly from a description of Moss' early life to an explanation of how she came to live in Kenya. She goes on to give examples of the kinds of questions the scientist wondered about and what she learned about elephant family behavior. Colorful illustrations, done with colored pencils, acrylic paint, watercolor, ink, and collage and bordered with appropriate designs, add interesting details. There are wide-angled scenes and close-ups of elephants in the wild. But this narrative has a dark side. Many, many elephants have been killed for the ivory in their tusks. The image of an elephant "lying lifeless in the beating sun" and men loading its bloody tusk into a truck filled with other bloody tusks will distress readers of any age. The simplicity of the narrative and its playful emphasis on and repetition of what is "BIG" seem at odds with the grim reality of ivory poaching, making this a book that may have a hard time finding an audience. (endnote, further reading, additional sources) (Picture book/biography. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews