Karen Romano Young – författare

Chérie Witkowski is twelve, and she doesn''t want to turn thirteen this year. This is the year, 1968, that everything -- absolutely everything-seems to be changing. At home her parents are expecting a new baby, her mother is fixing up the house so they can sell it and move who-knows-where, and everyone is starting to tease her about the boy next door. Meanwhile her newspaper route brings the changes of the outside world crashing in on her: the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the disappearance of a girl from a few towns away -- a girl who more braids like Chérie, who was about the same age as Chérie, who could have been Chérie.

Suddenly Chérie is scared; nothing seems safe and simple anymore. She longs for easier fears-for playing hide-and-seek in the dark, skipping school, daredevil bike tricks..She builds her own inside world: an elaborate elf house under a bush, complete with staircases, elevators, and carefully designed furniture.

But you can''t keep the outside world away forever, especially when you''re delivering the daily paper. And maybe Chérie has the strength to deal with it after all, and even to change some of the bad to good...

Decades of commercial whaling nearly decimated a variety of whales considered a keystone species. Keystone species are indicators of the overall health of Earth''s habitats. While whales have made a comeback through an international ban on commercial whaling, they are still threatened with extinction. Global warming, water and noise pollution, and commercial shipping and fishing are among the most serious threats to whale survival. Meet the scientists, citizen scientists, researchers, whale watching guides, and other concerned citizens who are working together to protect whale populations around the globe. Learn about whale biology, habitats, and behavior, and discover more about the high-technology tools that help researchers in their work.

Sharks are in trouble.

Fifty shark species are at high risk of extinction, and another sixty-three are threatened. These intelligent, mysterious—and sometimes scary—fish evolved about 420 million years ago. They have adapted to survive deep in the ocean and in shallow-water habitats. Commercial fishing and finning are threatening shark populations. So is water pollution. Marine biologists and others, including young people, are working together to save these fascinating predators.

Discover the work of scientists and conservationists as they study shark biology and morphology; research migration, feeding, and mating patterns; delve into human, climate, and other threats to shark habitat; and develop sophisticated technologies to aid sharks and shark research. See how scientists also educate the public about real and imagined fear of sharks and encourage citizen participation in shark conservation efforts. Learn about high-tech tagging for tracking shark migration paths. Discover the autonomous underwater vehicles and drones that divers use to observe and photograph sharks up close. Visit shark sanctuaries in the South Pacific Ocean. You''ll even meet the Shark Lady, a.k.a. Eugenie Clark, a pioneer ichthyologist (shark scientist). Through research and advocacy, people around the world are working to protect—and admire—sharks.

"[A]n engaging, well-researched book about a much maligned species of fish that deserves our protection."—Booklist

"A remarkably thorough tour of the world of sharks and marine scientists'' efforts to educate the public about our ocean''s apex predators."—Kirkus Reviews