Ansel Adams, America's Photographer  •  Beverley Gherman BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 128 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) Published in conjunction with the Ansel Adams Trust, this young person's biography of the photographer showcases photos by and of Adams, plus much information on his life and early photography methods. Ages 9-12. (PHT12, $19.95)
Ishi, Last of his Tribe  •  Theodora Kroeber BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1973 •  PAPER  • 208 PAGES • YOUNG ADULTS Kids in California inevitably read this book in school, and for good reason. As an elegy for a lost way of life and a lesson in Native American history, it's extremely appealing. Theodora Kroeber relates the life story of Ishi, the last Yahi Indian to survive the arrival of white settlers in California, who was reputedly starving when a white family discovered him hiding in their slaughterhouse in 1911. He was subsequently "adopted" by the anthropology department of the University of California, where Kroeber debriefed him. For this children's book, she embroidered the story a bit, fleshing out Ishi's youth and putting thoughts in his head, but it still qualifies as a classic true story. Ages 12 and up. (CAL100, $6.50)
Island of the Blue Dolphins  •  Scott O'Dell LITERATURE •  1971 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES • YOUNG ADULTS Winner of the 1961 Newbery Medal, this is the gripping story of a courageous American Indian girl left abandoned by her tribe on an island off the California coast. Recommended for children ages 12 and up, Karana's struggle to survive is riveting. (PAC78, $6.99)
John Muir: My Life with Nature  •  Joseph Bharat Cornell BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER  • 80 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) This introductory biography reads like an autobiography, because the text is all excerpted from Muir's own writings, then put in meaningful order by nature educator Joseph Bharat Cornell. Geared for middle-school students. (CAL120, $8.95)
My Favorite Tree, Terrific Trees of North America  •  Diane Iverson NATURAL HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 64 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) An introduction to North American trees for an elementary school audience. Twenty-six species of trees are illustrated and described. It's playful starting point for the junior ecologist. (NAM05, $9.95)
The Race to Save the Lord God Bird  •  Phillip Hoose NATURAL HISTORY •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 208 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) An engaging and well-researched history of the ivory-billed woodpecker, and the struggles surrounding its survival. It's a suspenseful and entertaining book about modern conservation and environmental issues for middle-school readers, featuring John James Audubon and others. The bird, only recently rediscovered, once ranged across the southeastern United States. With black-and-white photographs throughout. (BRD30, $21.00)
The Tree of Time, A Story of a Special Sequoia  •  Kathy Baron NATURAL HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 37 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) The 2,200-year history of Yosemite's famous drive-through redwood (which collapsed in 1969), set against a timeline of world events. How big was the tree at the time of the crusades? Find out here. Ages 5 & up. (CAL119, $7.95)
Two Bear Cubs, A Miwok Legend from California's Yosemite Valley  •  Robert D. San Souci  •  Daniel San Souci LITERATURE •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 36 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) The Miwok have a legend about El Capitan, Yosemite's famous rock formation, and this is it: two bear cubs fall asleep on an ordinary rock, which then begins to grow. Nice illustrations and lots of cultural information about the Miwok, for ages 4-8. (CAL122, $14.95)