QUEST FOR THE TREE KANGAROO by Sy Montgomery

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Montgomery, Sy.  2006.  QUEST FOR THE TREE KANGAROO: AN EXPEDITION TO THE CLOUD FOREST OF NEW GUINEA.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin.  ISBN 0618496416

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Sy Montgomery accompanies Lisa Dabek, Program Director and Senior Conservation Scientist for Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington along with a team of scientists and explorers to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea with hopes to capture, study, and release Matschie’s tree kangaroo, one of the rarest and most elusive animals on the planet. 

QUEST FOR THE TREE KANGAROO depicts the preparations of the exploration team and provides readers with a comprehensive look at the requirements and expectations needed for on-sight scientific study.  From a detailed list of supplies (20 liter of kerosene, 6 kilograms of salt, 48 rolls of toilet paper, etc.) to the physical training each member underwent before the trip began (health club workouts).  Readers can feel they are part of the grueling journey.

"The only way to get there is to hike.  It'll take us three days.  Much of our gear will be packed into big white burlap sacks.  Some of us find these hard to lift, much less carry."  Montgomery goes on to describe the endurance of the local villagers: "children as young as nine can carry more than twenty pounds."  Even with good hiking shoes and special vitamins, the local people "in their bare feet, leave us Westerners in the dust."  

Lisa's conservation efforts are evident in the activities of the local school house, and the readers can appreciate her drive as the team finally enters Cloud Forest and captures its first specimens.  Ombom, an eighteen-pound Matschie's tree kangaroo and later a couple of other 'roos are captured while on a date.  Success!
The journey ends with Lisa back in Seattle at her fully equipped lab.  Readers can compare the differences in work environments but both work to benefit conservation efforts of this wondrous creature, the tree kangaroo.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Boston Globe describes Sy Montgomery, “Part Indiana Jones, part Emily Dickinson.”  Goodreads states she “has traveled to some of the worlds most remote wildernesses for her work (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13364.Sy_Montgomery).”  She is the winner of the 2009 New England Independent Booksellers Association Nonfiction Award, the 2010 Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award, the Henry Bergh Award for Nonfiction (given by the ASPCA for Humane Education) and dozens of other honors.  In her Author’s Note, Montgomery describes the tree kangaroo project as “my most physically strenuous expedition of all . . . so far.”

Montgomery’s ability to follow Lisa’s passionate adventure pulls in the reader much like adding a fictional character to bring a story quality to this informational text.  But this adventurer is the real deal!  Her explorations and zeal for conserving the tree kangaroo are contagious and inspiring.

The book cover is black with an adorable Matschie tree kangaroo nibbling on a plant, which attracts any curious animal lover to flip through the pages to find out more about this elusive creature.  Photographer, Nic Bishop, who holds a doctorate in biological sciences, delivers amazing colorful visuals of the team’s trek into Papua New Guinea.  The large close-up images provide extraordinary details of what Montgomery describes: endangered long-beaked echidna, Victoria crowned pigeon, Dacrydium trees, Elatostema berries, village school children, and cascading waterfalls.  

The layout for QUEST FOR THE TREE KANGAROO is cleverly inspired by the expedition it describes.  There is no table of contents or bibliography, but the book follows a clear sequence of the journey Lisa Dabek and her crew take in search of New Guinea’s tree kangaroo.  The nine segments of the scientists’ adventure are divided by large, bold watercolor titles such as: “THE ADVENTURE BEGINS,” “THE HIKE TO HEAVEN,” “PARTNERS IN CONSERVATION” and “CAPTURE!”  

Appended reference aids to guide readers include a list of web resources to help find tree kangaroos near you, an illustrated map by Bishop, a glossary of Tok Pisin (a local language of Papua), an index, and Author and Photographer Notes.  Also included are other butter background pages with supplemental facts about New Guinea, marsupials, or "Lisa's Advice for Kids."  She encourages everyone to follow their passion and offers five steps to follow if those passions include wild animals and wild places.

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPTS

Green Earth Book Award, 2007

Henry Bergh Children''s Book Award, 2006
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, 2007

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2007

Gillian Engberg (Booklist, Dec. 1, 2006 (Vol. 103, No. 7))
Montgomery and Bishop follow award-wining titles such as The Tarantula Scientist (2004) with another beautifully illustrated entry in the Scientists in the Field series. This time, they join researchers on a grueling expedition in Papua New Guinea to track the rare Matschie's tree kangaroo.

Jennie DeGenaro (Children's Literature)
To read about scientists tracking tree kangaroos in the cloud forest is an exciting journey as written by Sy Montgomery and accompanied by Nic Bishop's photographs. The text is interesting and the pictures magnificent. 

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 19))
The writer and photographer of this exemplary description of science field work accompanied researcher Lisa Dabek on an expedition high in New Guinea's mountains to study tree kangaroos and promote the conservation of this elusive and endangered species. 

5. CONNECTIONS

* Visit The Woodland Park Zoo's Web site to tree kangaroos and view conservation efforts.  http://www.zoo.org/Page.aspx?pid=1288

* Read about a woman who raises tree kangaroos that have been orphaned at www.authorwire.com 

* Classroom can correspond with kids in Papua New Guinea.  Find out how at www.zoo.org