Abayomi: The Brazilian Puma
by Darcy Pattison; Illustrated by Kitty Harvill
Mims House (March 2014)
Audience: K-3
Nature * Science * Mountain Lions
Amazon * WorldCat
Description from GoodReads: ***Outstanding Science Trade Book 2015 from the National Science Teacher's Association***
From the award-winning team that brought you WISDOM, THE MIDWAY ALBATROSS, comes a new heart-warming story of an orphaned puma cub.
A mother puma, an attempt to steal a chicken and an angry chicken farmer—the search is on for orphaned cubs. Will the scientists be able to find the cubs before their time runs out?
In this “Biography in Text and Art,” Harvill takes original photos as references to create accurate wildlife illustrations. These aren’t generic cats, but one particular individual in detail. Pattison’s careful research, vetted by scientists in the field, brings to life this this true story of an infant cub that must face a complicated world alone—and find a way to survive.
My thoughts on this book:
I discovered Abayomi: The Brazilian Puma on the NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books list a couple of months ago. Darcy Pattison saw my post and reached out to me about her book. Since I had marked it as one of the titles that I wanted to read, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review the book.
Though I was interested in the story of Abayomi, it was Harvill's illustrations that initially captured me. The soft watercolors were the perfect backdrop for the story Pattison was about to tell. In clear, straight-forward language, Pattison shares the story of a mother puma and her cub. Readers feel the emotions that rise as we learn of the loss of the mother puma and the relief when the cub is finally found.
This story is accessible as a read aloud for younger classes and older students can read this one independently. The addition of the videos shown below provide students with a greater connection to this special cub, and also an awareness of how we need to be aware of crowding out animals from their homes, and create a safer environment for them to live.
For further background information about the impact the work of Pattison and Harvill have had, check out this article on the Mims House Website.
Check out these videos of Abayomi. Since I do not read Portuguese, I am not exactly sure what the text says, but the videos are self-explanatory.:
Abayomi protecting his food:
Abayomi checks out his surroundings:
Website: The Brazilian Puma Corridor Project
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