Quest for the Tree Kangaroo

Title: Quest for the Tree Kangaroo:An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea
Author: Sy Montgomery
Photographer: Nic Bishop
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Publication City: Boston, Massachusetts
Copyright: 2006
ISBN: 0-618-49641-6
ISBN-13: 978-0618-49641-9

Summary

The Matschie's Tree Kangaroo lives in the tree forest of Papua New Guinea, and it is one of the rarest animals in the world. It lives only in the cloud forest on the Hunon Peninsula. Tree Kangaroos were hunted for food for many years, and have grown afraid of people. Spotting one and being able to catch it to tag it is a hard task.

Seven people gathered on a team to help Lisa find and track the tree kangaroo. A three day hike left the team exhausted, but determined to help the tree kangaroos. When they finally find one, the kangaroo is foundto have a problem with his leg. The vet fixes him up the best way she can without much modern technology. Will the poor thing survive?

While searching the team learns about their surroundings and other rare animals that live in the clouad forest, but it is still the tree kangaroo that they are most excited about catching. When they catch a male and female tree kangaroo "on a date" the rare chance to track mating brings excitement to the team. This has never been done before! This makes the trip a successful one!


Review

The Quest for the Tree Kangaroowill get the attention of any student who judges the book by the cover, sees the cuddly tree kangaroo and decides any book with a cuddly animal on the front just has to be great. In this case, it is not a bad judgment. Sy Montgomery writes the book with a flair for explanation that does not make the student think they are failures for not knowing the fact, or make them think Montgomery thinks they are too stupid to understand difficult concepts. The pictures are colorful and well composed. Boys will especially like the picture of the leech on one of the worker's skin. Students will be just as excited as the leader of the expedition, Lisa, when they find a Matschie's tree kangaroo, and they will be just as sad when they learn what happens to Ombum, one of the tree kangaroos they captured.

The book is also a good lesson on how people can change. The village near the cloud forest in Papua New Guinea use to hunt tree kangaroo for food. Now the villagers understand that killing the kangaroos led to the endangerment of the species, and help with the studies of the creature. They have found food sources in other items like chickens. Quest for the Tree Kangaroo also teaches students the culture of another society without hammering the facts into the student's head.

Professional Reviews

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 4-9–Montgomery and Bishop continue their outstanding collaboration to introduce readers to scientists at work. Here, they document their participation in an expedition to the rugged and remote cloud forest of Papua New Guinea in search of the elusive and fascinating Matschie's tree kangaroo. Biologist Lisa Dabek heads a team of scientists from around the world who work with local guides to locate the creatures and fit them with radio collars to learn more about them. Bishop's photographs capture the expedition in detail. Stunning close-ups of plants, insects, and birds vie for attention with panoramas of moss-draped trees in the eerie, ancient forest. Montgomery describes both the hardships and exhilaration of the enterprise. She also introduces readers to some of the local people dedicated to conservation efforts. Dabek's pursuit of her interest in animals despite problems with asthma and her suggestions about exploring the natural world should encourage young scientists. The book's fascinating glimpses into a little-explored region will hold the attention of anyone interested in unusual creatures and the efforts to study them.–Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Montgomery and Bishop follow award-wining titles such as The Tarantula Scientist (2004) with another beautifully illustrated entry in the Scientists in the Field series. This time, they join researchers on a grueling expedition in Papua New Guinea to track the rare Matschie's tree kangaroo. Montgomery gives a chronological, sometimes moment-by-moment account of the challenging climb into the remote cloud forest, the conditions in camp (rice-and-fern dinners, icy waterfall showers), and the awe-inspiring encounters with barely studied animals. The text occasionally veers into a casual tone ("a leech dropped into Lisa's eye. Yuck!") that seems aimed at a young audience, while the small font, exacting detail, and meandering narrative may demand older readers. Still, Montgomery gives an unusually strong, visceral sense of the work and cooperation fieldwork entails and the scope and uniqueness of this particular mission. She also communicates the thrill of studying animals in the wild, making observations, and discovering new information. As usual, Bishop's color photographs are exemplary and extend the excitement in stunning close-ups of creatures and of the team at work. Web resources, notes about conservation, and a glossary of Tok Pisin (the language spoken by the team's Papuan members) are appended. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Connections

Read other books in the "Scientists in the Field" series and compare the animals or other sciences.
The book was written two years ago, what research has happened since then? Students can learn research skills looking up articles by Lisa Dabek about the Matschie's tree kangaroo.
There are many endangered species out there. Have students branstorm using a web how they can help these animals.