Rebecca L. Johnson

Grade 5-9 Animals are compared to Japan's medieval ninja warriors in this picture book for older readers. Nine chapters follow an introduction offering background information on the practiced arts of the ninja. Each chapter features an animal with natural abilities closely aligned to a particular ninja skill, and begins with the skill highlighted in a stylized text box—"CHOHO Spying—infiltrating an enemy's camp or society without being discovered." Rove beetles have the natural ability show more of a choho master. Amazingly, they look, smell, and even behave like army ants—living among the well-known predators. “The beetles gain a lot from their trickery. They live protected in ant colonies that few predators dare to attack. They feast on food that army soldiers bring back to the nest.” They’ve even been seen to eat army ant larvae! Geckos and sailfish are among the other featured creatures. In addition to a description of the animal’s ninja-like skill, there is a section on each creature titled “The Science Behind the Story.” Photographs and scientific graphics illustrate each comparison. Back matter is comprehensive and includes a glossary, index, and Meet the Scientists. VERDICT Steer older students towards this book and they will not be disappointed. Both the premise and execution of Nature's Ninja are intriguing.

Note: I wrote this review for School Library Journal. It was edited slightly and appeared in their October 2019 issue. I have permission to reprint my reviews after 6 months. show less

Johnson is back with another disgusting, fascinating, and completely engrossing book.

Like Lunch fights back and Zombie Makers, this title explores a selection of unique animal abilities. In this case, camouflage and mimicry and the way animals use the art of deception to hunt, hide, and otherwise benefit themselves.

The featured animals include the assassin bug, pictured on the front cover, who disguises itself with a "coat of many corpses" and uses this disguise to catch its prey, ants. Then show more there's the chick of the cinereous mourner, which is disguised as a poisonous caterpillar or the caterpillar of the Alcon large blue butterfly which uses scent and song to trick ants into caring for it. Harlequin filefish disguise themselves as coral to confuse predators and the Cyclosa spider takes things even farther by creating a large decoy of itself to scare away predators. A gliding lizard looks enough like a leaf to distract predators for a few precious moments, the cuckoo finch tricks other birds into caring for its own eggs, and, most amazing of all, the Grote's tiger moth actually avoids bats by jamming their echolocation!

Each chapter features a different animal and lasts 3-4 pages, with plenty of stunning photography. The animal and its ability is introduced in a short narrative and then there is a section titled "The science behind the story" which explains how scientists discover and research the animals' behavior. An afterword discusses instinct and genetics and how creatures learn the behavior described in the book. There is also a page dedicated to the scientists introduced in the book, source notes, glossary, bibliography, and further research and reading.

I love the way the author combines "isn't this gross/amazing/weird" with science, especially where the scientists talk about how they're still studying to learn how/why the creatures do what they do. It's written in a fresh, engaging way that doesn't over-dramatize the freaky parts and also keeps the science brisk and readable.

Verdict: This book will grab readers' attention from the first sentence and keep them absorbed until the end. Definitely worth the slightly higher price of Millbrook's titles - highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781512400878; Published 2016 by Millbrook Press; Purchased for the library show less

This is, technically speaking, a children's book. But it reminds me why I ended up studying biology, until the relentless focus on biochemistry, microbiology and physiology sapped the joy out the subject. It gently and lightly sketches a trail through the Census of Marine Life, highlighting a cross-section of the beautiful and wonderful creatures the project revealed. Johnson treads a skillful path of tone: explaining the project bit by bit without getting dry; putting the reader in the show more scientists' shoes without getting twee; and saying just enough to make each page revealing without turning it into a wall of text or distracting from the fascinating images. I am delighted with this one, and the nostalgic love of natural history that it stirred. show less

This gives an overview of the Chernobyl disaster and its effect on the area and people, before getting into research on animals in the Exclusion Zone. Particular attention is paid to Robert Baker and Ronald Chesser and their study of bank voles, and Timothy Mousseau and Anders Pape Møller and their studies of swallows and insects.

I really wished this had been longer and more detailed. It was both a fascinating and frustrating look at animals in the Exclusion Zone. Baker and Chesser's show more conclusions were very different from Mousseau and Møller's (I got the impression the author agreed more with Mousseau and Møller's conclusions than Baker and Chesser's), and I was left with a lot of questions. Quite possibly there genuinely weren't any answers, but that didn't stop me from wanting a few other scientists' opinions and maybe a chapter set up like a moderated discussion between the different camps.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less