If you like a good mystery and are interested in protecting the environment, then you will really enjoy reading The Weirdo by Theodore Taylor. The Weirdo is actually Chip Clewt, a 17 year old boy who has been badly disfigured in a plane crash. He hides from the world in a North Carolina swamp where he studies black bears as part of a graduate research project.
Samantha Sanders is a teen-age girl who sees a man’s body get dumped in the swamp. Together, she and Chip set out to prove that poachers hunting black bears in the swamp killed the man.

Read this book and you’ll discover how the author uses SCIENCE to make the story more interesting and exciting:

 

 

 

 

*You will learn lots of interesting facts about a swamp, such as how chemicals from the tree roots turn its water brown and make it acidic.

*The author also gives great descriptions of the types of trees and shrubs that grow in a swamp.
*You can follow Chip and Sam as they navigate the dangers of the swamp, including a peat bog and quicksand.
*You can even learn how bears are tagged so that scientist can monitor their movements and help protect them. (http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/07_00/snare_bear_hair.shtml)

If you are interested in becoming an environmentalist, you really should read this book!

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