The beautiful photographs by Perter Greste of Miza and her family help tell her incredible tale.  Miza is a young gorilla living in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where just over half of the world’s mountain gorillas live.  In June 2007, park rangers Innocent and Diddy discovered that Miza and her mother were missing from their family group.  They immediately began looking for Miza, as her survival was at stake.  What surprised the rangers was that Kibirizi, the family group’s silverback, also went looking for Miza and her mother.

As the head of the family group, Kibrizi was responsible for protecting the 31 gorillas in his family. Before he began his search for Miza, he took his family high into Mount Mikeno to hide in his absence.  After several days, Kibrizi returned with Miza, but her mother was never found.  Miza’s mother was one of the ten massacred mountain gorillas.  Miza almost died without her mother’s care, but she was adopted by her big sister and learned to eat on her own.

Read more of this story »

Gail Gibbons is well known for her children’s non-fiction books. From Weather Forecasting to Chicks & Chickens, the text and illustrations are loaded with detailed information. Recycle! is no exception. The book begins by talking about the problem of garbage and how to dispose of it. Recycling is presented as a solution that can “cut down the amount of trash we make.” From a simple explanation of recycling, Gail breaks down the specifics of recycling paper, glass, cans, plastic, and polystyrene. She explains how each is made, recycled, and reused.

It takes lime, soda ash, and sand, called silica, to make glass. These three elements are mixed together and heated at a very high temperature to make a glassy liquid. Measured amounts, sometimes dyed, are dropped into forming machines, where the liquid hardens to make bottles and jars. Many products come in glass bottles or jars. Sometimes, when they are through being used, they are just thrown away. It would take thousands of years for them to biodegrade at a landfill. Instead, these bottles and jars could be reused. RECYCLE!

Read more of this story »