Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas written by Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by Maris Wicks is a book I think I will get hold of a copy of to make sure it’s available for the kids.
It’s a story in three parts, told from the point of view of the three researchers in turn, and is a fascinating look into some of the intense work, and the personal sacrifices, that has gone into gaining the knowledge I, for one, now take for granted about our fellow apes, the chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans.
In fact, I’d pronounce it a pretty much perfect book, except I am so indescribably bothered by the colour choice for (and partly the faces of) the chimpanzees. Really. How do you get two of the three apes so right and the third so wrong? If it wasn’t for the text insisting they really are meant to be chimps I’d be assuming that I was misunderstanding something fundamental.
Well, that aside, it’s still a cracking book, and if you have any interest in natural history (and you should have) you should read it, and if you want to encourage a similar interest in the kids in your life you should make sure they read it, too.
One thought to “ Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas – Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks”