Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Searching... Dallas Public Library | + 597.96 M76 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Independence Public Library | J 597.96 MONTGOMERY | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | 597.96 Montgomery | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | J 597.96 MONTGOMERY | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Mount Angel Public Library | + 597.96 MONTGOMERY | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Dr. Robert Mason has been studying a mysterious phenomenon for over fifteen years: the reemergence of tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes - the world's largest concentration of snakes - after a winter spent in a state of suspended animation in subterranean caverns.This gathering each spring in the forests of Manitoba, Canada, is one of the most extraordinary events of the natural world and is the subject of study for Dr. Mason, a.k.a. the Snake Scientist.
Author Notes
Sy Montgomery was born on February 7, 1958 in Frankfurt, Germany. She is a 1979 graduate of Syracuse University, a triple major with dual degrees in Magazine Journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and in French Language and Literature and in Psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Keene State College in 2004, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Franklin Pierce University and also from Southern New Hampshire University in 2011.
Montgomery is a naturalist. She is an author, and scriptwriter. Her most popular book, The Good Good Pig, is a memoir of her life with her pig, Christopher Hogwood. The book became listed on the New York Times bestseller list in 2015. How to be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals was published in September 2018. Her other notable titles include Journey of the Pink Dolphins, Spell of the Tiger, and Search for the Golden Moon Bear.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-The excitement of science in action fills the pages of these two books. Montgomery focuses on one man and his research on the red-sided garter snake in Canada. The lively text communicates both the meticulous measurements required in this kind of work and the thrill of new discoveries. Large, full-color photos of the zoologist and young students at work, and lots of wriggly snakes, pull readers into the presentation. A list of "unsolved mysteries" about the snakes and instructions on visiting the snake dens will keep interest high to the very last page. Swinburne gives a historical perspective on the extermination of wolves from the Lower 48 states and details the work of biologists in their efforts to reintroduce the animals into Yellowstone National Park. Vintage illustrations (including pictures of dead wolves) and excellent full-color photos document a struggle that, unfortunately, is far from over. A map showing current and historical wolf ranges and a list for further reading that includes books, periodicals, and Web sites are helpful additions. Two outstanding titles that show scientists at work.-Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Primary, Intermediate) Each spring, 18,000 red-sided garter snakes emerge en masse from three underground dens in Manitoba, Canada, where they have spent the winter stacked on top of one another like cordwood. As the snakes spill out of the dens, Earthwatch volunteers and students gather them up and stuff them in pillowcases bought in bulk at the Salvation Army. The captured snakes then participate in a day's behavioral experiments directed by Bob Mason, a zoologist at Oregon State University. (In 1989 Mason identified the pheromone, or scent, that draws the male to the female garter snake.) The snakes might interact in colorful ""arenas"" that look like upended box kites or attempt to follow a path marked with scent through a maze. Mason is trying to figure out why female snakes prefer bigger males and how the snakes find their way to the marsh twenty miles away from the dens. At times the book provides more background information than is needed, and the relation of the text and the photographs is more casual and less deeply pondered than in the 1993 A Gathering of Garter Snakes by writer-photographer Bianca Lavies. But it is a solid introduction to the ethos of experimental science as seen by a genial scientist with a research topic whose kid appeal is hard to beat. diana lutz (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4^-6. Montgomery, author of several animal studies for adults, tries her hand at one for children and accomplishes the task with great success. Her dual focus is on Oregon zoologist Bob Mason, known as the "Snake Scientist," and on one of his favorite subjects, the red-sided garter snake. The venue is Narcisse Wildlife Management Area, where thousands of the snakes gather each year and nearly equal numbers of people, including Mason and his team of researchers, come to view and study them. Montgomery explains how Mason, the first to discover reptiles' use of pheremones, and his associates gather data and employ them to further scientists' understanding of animal behavior and physiology. Concern about the ecological health of the planet, shared by both the author and the scientist, comes clear in the interesting narrative, which introduces scientific terms without a hint of pedanticism and is peppered with quotes and fascinating descriptions of research in progress. Accompanying the text are numerous full-color photos, including some extraordinary close-ups, of the reptiles in their natural habitat and of the awe-struck, dedicated people observing them. A selection of questions scientists are still pondering and some further readings round out this fine natural history, a stellar example of how good such books can be. --Stephanie Zvirin