SEARCH FOR THE GOLDEN MOON BEAR

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Montgomery, Sy. 2004. SEARCH FOR THE GOLDEN MOON BEAR. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 9780618356508.


PLOT SUMMARY
The scientific search for a possible new species of bear leads Sy Montgomery and other scientists on a quest around the world. The chance encounter in China of this "Moon Bear" in 1988 was the beginning of research that ended in October of 1999. Detailed description is given to the procedures followed in this scientific study, which includes DNA collection and analysis. The final answer to this scientific study was not what the researches expected to find.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The beginning of the book reads like a Raiders of the Lost Ark movie. A sighting of an unusual bear in a cage in China was intriguing. Sy Montgomery, a female scientist living in New Hampshire heard this story upon their return. Thus begins her journey to the other side of the world. Montgomery does a good job at the beginning and writes a captivating story. After the initial description of the particular bear they were researching, a four page spread giving background on the eight species of bear is helpful. Learning that all bears have the Latin word Ursa (bear) in their name was interesting. This could lead to a discussion of the star formation Ursa Major and Ursa Minor and why they were so named. Beautiful color photographs help move the story along. A large map of the region at the beginning of the story outlines the area they studied. The book is divided into chapters, with headings of the contents. Montgomery asks questions of other scientists, as children might, during the story to explain what they are doing during their research. She also gives interesting regional information about the towns that would interest children. The picture of the fried bug snacks and the description with a picture of the largest leech she'd ever seen is a "gross" effect sure to please students!

The appendices at the back of the book would enable those who are interested in more information on this subject. Where to learn more about bears and how to help them, further reading and facts about bears are listed. I also liked the photos of the author throughout the book. Girls are not traditionally seen as research scientists and the exposure to a woman who encounters danger in her job could be appealing to those children who like adventure.

PERSONAL OPINION
Toward the end of the book one of the chapters is entitled "Cracking the Code". Montgomery gives a detailed explanation of how DNA is analyzed. I can't see students reading this entire chapter. The story loses momentum as we are bogged down in reading pages of scientific findings that is fascinating to scientists but not always as exciting for children. This made the results rather anticlimactic as I'd lost some interest in the story.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
From School Library Journal
"While on an expedition to the Amazon, a fellow scientist told Montgomery about a bear seen years before in Yunnan, China–a bear with tall round ears, a white crescent on its chest, a bushy mane, and a coat as golden as a palomino. Later, a chance meeting with a young Cambodian unearthed a recent photo of a golden bear. From these encounters a scientific expedition to Southeast Asia evolved, seeking to determine if this honey-colored creature was a new species or a previously unseen color variation of Ursus thibetanus. Montgomery's conversational text takes readers to open-air markets and fruit farms in Cambodia, a wildlife breeding center and a zoo in Thailand, and hillside tribal villages in Laos (with a hefty interlude of tropical rain forest investigation), seeking the elusive animal."

From Booklist
"As in Encantado: Pink Dolphin of the Amazon (2002), nature writer Montgomery has adapted this from a longer work she wrote for adults. Here she chronicles her travels in war-torn Southeast Asia in search of an elusive golden-furred bear, hoping to nab tufts of its hair for DNA analysis to confirm a species not previously known to science. Though discussions of the region's bloody history have been toned down, Montgomery does frame the adventure with thought-provoking context."

AWARDS
Outstanding work of Non Fiction- New Hampshire Literary Review
One of the top five Non Fiction books of the year by Book magazine
Top Ten Science Book of the Year by Booklist
ALA Editor's Choice

CONNECTIONS
Students could be asked to "design" a bear no one had seen before. Artwork could be part of a bulletin board display with facts about the eight species of bears.
As a class, students could trace the route the scientists used to gather information for the story. The map from the front could be copied onto individual sheets for students to plot.

Students who liked this book might enjoy:

Montgomery, Sy. ENCANTO: PINK DOLPHIN OF THE AMAZON. ISBN 9780618131037

Montgomery, Sy. THE SNAKE SCIENTIST. ISBN 0395871697

Montgomery, Sy. THE TARANTULA SCIENTIST. ISBN 9780618915774