The Frog Scientist

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by Pamela S. Turner. Illustrated by Andy Comins. Nonfiction. 58 pages. Grades 4-9.
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Review

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Tyrone Hayes was born in a coloreds-only hospital in South Carolina in 1967. Excelling in school he heard about Harvard on an episode of "Green Acres" on TV, applied and was accepted. He went on to become a university biologist and an expert on frogs. Specifically, he studies how pesticides affect frog populations and the implications for humans.

Amphibians around the world are experiencing a dramatic decline in numbers. This book details one of Hayes' experiments and his team of college students who carry it out with him. Hayes' passion and strong work ethic are contagious and a worthy model for readers wondering what might be possible for them. This is another great entry in the "Scientists in the Field" series.

Turner writes compelling text, a reflection of her own excitement in getting to know Hayes and his team and traipsing along with them to collect frogs and do their experiments. The photos by Comins are fascinating and essential to the experience of looking in on this amazing science in process.

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