This book written as a journal of the author’s experience studying lemurs and illustrated with her own watercolors. It is filled with her close observations of lemurs as well as the other rain forest plants and animals. It reads like a story but is heavily speckled with facts so that by the end, the reader knows not only lots of information about lemur species, behavior, predators, and habitat, but also has an understanding of what it is like to be a scientist in the rain forest.

Positive review from Booklist 9/15/1998

This could be used to explore what scientists do, especially in connection with the ecosystems and Africa units fourth graders do simultaneously in the spring. Also, it would be good to explore the journal format, first person perspective, and how to know it is non-fiction despite the illustrations. Overall, it would be great read aloud to tie in science and social studies content while reading engaging non-fiction text. ( )