Teen readers might think they already know Jane Goodall’s story—her prominent work as a primatologist is legendary. But this engrossing read is more than a retelling of her celebrated career. Intimate details about Jane’s development as a person and scientist are presented against a vivid backdrop of time and place. From growing up an independent young girl in the British countryside to fearlessly going to Kenya at age twenty-two, Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall thrived on exploration of the natural world. As a schoolgirl, she established a nature club for her friends. “Valerie Jane had strict rules for joining—each girl had to be able to recognize ten birds, ten dogs, ten trees, and five butterflies or moths. . . . As leader of the Alligator Society, Valerie Jane also gave herself the code name Red Admiral (the name of an eye-catching butterfly).” During a time when there were few women in the field of science, let alone groundbreaking pioneers, Jane Goodall’s experiences living with African chimpanzees paved the way for a new kind of research and deepened the world’s understanding of primates. (Age 13 and older)

This compelling biography of Jane Goodall delivers a thorough account of her life and work with chimpanzees in Africa. Endowed with a genuine love for chimpanzees and an intense desire to study them, Goodall made remarkable contributions to science despite her initial lack of a formal scientific educa tion. Her highly subjective reports survived the scrutiny of the scientific com munity. The longevity of Goodall’s research afforded her the opportunity to uncover the dark side of chimpanzees when she observed them in cannibalism and fatal aggression. Today, Goodall’s worldwide organizations encourage the humane treatment of animals and the preservation of the earth. dgw