Status
Available
Series
Collection
Publication
Clarion Books (2017), Edition: Illustrated, 80 pages
Description
"Part science, part carnival--this winding adventure down the Amazon River with award-winning author Sy Montgomery and photographer Keith Ellenbogen explores how tiny fish, called piabas, can help preserve not only the rainforest and it's often misunderstood inhabitants, but the fate of our entire environment."--
Local notes
Booklist Starred Reviews, 05/14/2017
*Starred Review* Sibert Medal–winning Montgomery returns to the impressive Scientists in the Field series with this narrative account of one little fish. The Amazon, an essential part of the earth’s ecosystem, is teeming with life; new species are still regularly discovered there. Montgomery and photographer Keith Ellenbogen join forces with Boston aquarist Scott Dowd in search of piaba, a bright, shy fish that plays a large role in the preservation of the Amazon. Sold as valuable pets, the gathering of these fish has led to a flourishing trade: piabeiros who gently fish for piabas from canoes. Removing the piabas from their natural habitat may seem detrimental, but overcrowding during the dry season means almost 90 percent of piabas are stranded. Furthermore, piabeiros rely on their trade and protect their industry, keeping this stretch of the Amazon free of the industries that pollute other areas; the fishery becomes not only sustainable but mutually beneficial. Montgomery thoroughly mines the social and economic effects the piabas have on locals, alongside an in-depth exploration of the Amazon River and its ecosystems. The science and sociology are interesting and unusual, and the narrative itself enthralling: a nerve-racking section detailing the most dangerous inhabitants of the Amazon River, just before Ellenbogen submerges himself, will have readers holding their breath (those dangers are, mostly, debunked several pages later). A true-to-form installment in a valuable series.
*Starred Review* Sibert Medal–winning Montgomery returns to the impressive Scientists in the Field series with this narrative account of one little fish. The Amazon, an essential part of the earth’s ecosystem, is teeming with life; new species are still regularly discovered there. Montgomery and photographer Keith Ellenbogen join forces with Boston aquarist Scott Dowd in search of piaba, a bright, shy fish that plays a large role in the preservation of the Amazon. Sold as valuable pets, the gathering of these fish has led to a flourishing trade: piabeiros who gently fish for piabas from canoes. Removing the piabas from their natural habitat may seem detrimental, but overcrowding during the dry season means almost 90 percent of piabas are stranded. Furthermore, piabeiros rely on their trade and protect their industry, keeping this stretch of the Amazon free of the industries that pollute other areas; the fishery becomes not only sustainable but mutually beneficial. Montgomery thoroughly mines the social and economic effects the piabas have on locals, alongside an in-depth exploration of the Amazon River and its ecosystems. The science and sociology are interesting and unusual, and the narrative itself enthralling: a nerve-racking section detailing the most dangerous inhabitants of the Amazon River, just before Ellenbogen submerges himself, will have readers holding their breath (those dangers are, mostly, debunked several pages later). A true-to-form installment in a valuable series.
Awards
Riverby Awards (Winner — 2018)
Lexile
1050L