Recent Reads: The Leaf Detective by Heather Lang

Source: From Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review. 

The Leaf Detective by Heather Lang

Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Publication Date:  February 9th, 2021

 

Format: Ebook

Rating:

Synopsis: 

Meg Lowman was determined to investigate the marvelous, undiscovered world of the rainforest treetops. Meg's perseverance and creativity allowed her to achieve this goal, but when this fantastic ecosystem started to disappear, Meg needed to act quickly.

Meg Lowman was always fascinated by the natural world above her head. The colors, the branches, and, most of all, the leaves and mysterious organisms living there. As a scientist, Meg set out to climb up and investigate the rain forest tree canopies-- and to be the first scientist to do so. But she encountered challenge after challenge. Male teachers would not let her into their classrooms, the high canopy was difficult to get to, and worst of all, people were logging and clearing the forests. Meg never gave up or gave in. She studied, invented, and persevered, not only creating a future for herself as a scientist, but making sure that the rainforests had a future as well. Working closely with Meg Lowman, author Heather Lang and artist Jana Christy beautifully capture Meg's world in the treetops.

Review: 

Whenever I pick up a book geared for younger, youngest audiences, I am always looking for something that either is educational or that has images that really will pull a reader in - this book is both of those things. 

Full disclaimer - I don't have kids, I have younger siblings and my family members have kids, so I have some idea of what both the parents and kids might like but am FAR from an expert. 

All that said, I really enjoyed this book. The Leaf Detective is about Meg Lowman, a real woman, who paved the way for a number of things - female scientists, rainforest ecosystem understanding and conservation efforts. She really is a remarkable woman. The book is about her finding her way and trying different things in order to learn as much as she could about the rainforest and the different ecosystems throughout. 

While this is essentially a picture book, it is a book of non-fiction and it includes so much more than just beautiful images. There are leaf facts and ecosystem notes throughout the pages and the page layouts vary and are interactive and so full of interesting facts. 

In addition to telling Meg's story, the book also includes a wonderful Authors note and a diagram of the rainforest canopy levels and notes about them, along with a search and find for some leaf types.