Personal Notes
The arctic hare lives in Here Is the Arctic Winter.A note from Madeleine: “I wrote Here Is the Arctic Winter because I was inspired by the strength of the animals that remain in the Arctic during its long, dark, and cold winters.“
The collared lizard lives in Here Is the Southwestern Desert.A note from Madeleine: “To research Here Is the Southwestern Desert I got in my car and drove from San Francisco, California to Tucson, Arizona. I was inspired to write this book by the great diversity of life I found in the Sonoran Desert.”
The harpy eagle lives in Here Is the Tropical Rain Forest.A note from Madeleine: “To research Here Is the Tropical Rain Forest I camped out in the Amazon rain forest. Each night the frogs were so loud it was like trying to sleep with a rock band playing next door. When I was dirty, I would wait for a thunderstorm and then wash my hair using the sky as my showerhead.”
The macaroni penguin lives in Here Is Antarctica.A note from Madeleine: “I did not go to Antarctica to research Here Is Antarctica because I get very seasick and the seas are notoriously rough there. Instead I did my research through books, the internet and by talking with experts. Part of my motivation around writing this book was that I wanted to help people understand the seriousness of global warming.”
The hawksbill turtle lives in Here Is the Coral Reef.A note from Madeleine: “Here Is the Coral Reef is based on a swim I took one morning in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. I met up with a sea turtle and followed her all morning. It felt like she was my tour guide. Everything I saw that morning (except for one – the manta ray) is included in this book.”
The tundra peregrine lives in The Peregrine’s Journey:A Story of Migration.
A note from Madeleine: “To research The Peregrine’s Journey: A Story of Migration I talked to peregrine experts, observed peregrines in the wild, and mapped real peregrine migrations tracked by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service using satellite telemetry.
In fall, 2008, Bud Anderson of Falcon Research Group drove his car from Canada to Panama to follow a peregrine falcon on her migration. Bud left a message on my answering machine saying, “You did a great, great job! The Peregrine’s Journey is exactly like it is!”
The olive baboon lives in Here Is the African Savanna.A note from Madeleine: “To research Here Is the African Savanna I camped out in the Serengeti. I spent hours and hours observing the animals go about their daily rhythms. There was actually very little hunting and prowling. Watching the animals was like listening to a symphony. Each animal had its part to play.”
The gopher tortoise lives in At Home with the Gopher Tortoise: The Story of a Keystone Species.A note from Madeleine: “I was inspired to write At Home with
the Gopher Tortoise: The Story of a Keystone Species when
I discovered, much to my amazement, that more than 360 different kinds of animals live in gopher tortoise burrows.”
the Gopher Tortoise: The Story of a Keystone Species when
I discovered, much to my amazement, that more than 360 different kinds of animals live in gopher tortoise burrows.”
The bullfrog lives in Here Is the Wetland.A note from Madeleine: “I wrote Here Is the Wetland to rebuke that myth that wetlands are wastelands – places to be avoided or better yet eliminated. Wetlands provide food and habitat for thousands of species. More than one-third of the endangered species in the United States live only in wetlands.”