SOMETHING ROTTEN by Heather Montgomery takes a “fresh look” at roadkill.

After a note from the author to jumpstart the topic, the eleven chapters each deal with a different aspect of roadkill science. The book concludes with an epilogue, project ideas, and a bibliography. Montgomery’s conversational style and compelling real-life stories bring the topic to life for young readers. While the book explores the study of dead animals, it also shares ways researchers are preventing roadkill. Although the informational text contains several basic illustrations, it would benefit from a more detailed visual component.

Librarians will find this fascinating, irreverent examination of animal remains to be a hit with intermediate and middle grade students who enjoy the macabre. However, it will also be of use to young scientists seeking career options. Pair it with books dealing wildlife forensics and other titles dealing with wildlife science.

Published by Bloomsbury on October 26, 2018. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

This is a change of pace from your typical kid's non-fiction. The tone is more conversational than instructional. It's the sort of book you use to spark an interest in a subject before giving a kid more clinical information.

This book is full of fascinating information about roadkill. There is no doubt in my mind that students would pick up this book and be completely engrossed in it. Whether it is because the book is about roadkill or for the scientific aspect, this book is a must have for upper elementary and middle school classrooms.

Who knew roadkill could be so interesting. This book covered a lot of aspects about roadkill - why it's important to track, the impact of roadkill financially, how to decrease the number, and so on. Fascinating and slightly gross - prefect.

Heather Montgomery gives a warning at the beginning of Something Rotten that her book is not for squeamish souls, reckless readers, or the tenderhearted. Her subtitle, “A Fresh Look at Roadkill,” suggests a reason for her advice.

Being neither squeamish nor overly tenderhearted and thinking of the subtitle, I found her chapter titles intriguing – “On the Trail of Dead Devils,” “Please Pass the Salt,” and “Oh Deer!” to name a few.

There is much to learn in this book that is designed for middle graders, but is also intriguing for those who have passed that milestone. As it turns out, there is more to roadkill than the nasty splat on the highway since scientists collect and examine the bodies for species, migration, diseases, and many other pieces of information. As you might imagine, some of these are disgusting like why vultures pee right down their legs. One of my favorite new pieces of knowledge is, “Please don’t feed the highway.” She gives a reason not to throw that apple core out the window, although I thought I was being kind to share my snack with the birds and critters.

Heather weaves her identities as scientist, children’s author, and wit throughout the book making it a delightful read. Who would have thought this could happen with such a subject?

With great respect for Heather in all her roles, I would like to qualify her reading advice. You don’t want to miss this book. Just put your squeamish soul and your tender heart in your closet for a while, but do pay attention to the cautions she gives to your recklessness when she advises, “Don’t do this at home.”

And since I’m sure you are just dying to know why you shouldn’t throw the apple core out the window, food along the highway may look like a tasty buffet to birds and critters just before it winds up turning them into roadkill.

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 4.2

Who would have ever thought that road kill could be fun, interesting, and even life-saving? Heather Montgomery, that who! Heather's adventure with road kill started with an early morning run when she came across a snake lying dead on the side of the road. She had so many questions so she decided to take it back home so that she could dig in and find the answers. For example, how does a snake's fangs not puncture itself when it's mouth is closed? How does a snake continue to breathe when it swallows it's prey whole? Now, Heather does not recommend the average person to do what she did, she actually didn't recommend herself to do it, but she had to know the answers. Did she find them? You bet she did! It is also interesting that there are actually people who keep road kill statistics - location, dates found, and even time found. This may not seem like a big deal but this information can be used to determine how and where diseases are contracted. Another super cool thing about this book is that it looks into ways to save animals lives by building grassy bridges over roads and tunnels under roads for creatures to cross roads safely. Want to know more about this fascinating book? Grab a copy and enjoy!

I had the pleasure of hearing Heather Montgomery speak a few weeks ago and I never dreamed the topic of road kill would be so interesting!! This is such an interesting book for nonfiction lovers and anyone looking for the "gross" factor. Don't miss it!!

Who would ever think that roadkill could be interesting, well - to anyone besides Granny Clampett? But the intrepid Heather L. Montgomery took the time to research, get her hands dirty (and sometimes more than her hands), and put together a fascinating look at what causes roadkill, how people are working to prevent it, how scientists are using data from it, and how some people are using the roadkill itself in various ways.

For instance, did you know that some people collect statistics on what types of roadkill are seen, how often, at what locations, even to the date and time it was seen? Then the numbers are used to help figure out what is causing the collisions between animals and vehicles. Is it low visibility? Are there food sources attracting the wildlife? Is the roadway cutting across a migration path or bisecting a habitat? Once the situation is better understood, sometime there are possible solutions put in place by helpful groups. Bridges or tunnels might give animals a safe path, fences can funnel them toward one of those paths, etc.

But our daring author also visited museums and wildlife rehabilitation centers to see how rescued animals were cared for, or how scientists study those who were not so lucky. And she even did some study on her own - including getting covered in scent from a skunk. She also contacted individuals who donate roadkill to food banks and use it to help feed the hungry. And she visited with an artist who creates taxidermy pieces with some of the unfortunate animals.

What a weird and wonderfully informative book about a topic that is sure to lure in reluctant readers with its potential gross factor, but can also appeal to those interested in STEM topics in general. Back matter includes a list of books, videos, and Internet sites to find more information; suggestions on science projects to try; and an annotated bibliography.

Highly recommended for middle grade readers and up.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I drive by roadkill probably every day on my way to and from work. I always feel bad for the pitiful limp body that was once an active, alive squirrel, and one of my biggest fears is that one day I might be responsible for turning a small creature into road kill. But I never gave roadkill more that than that. In Something Rotten, Heather L. Montgomery takes a look at roadkill in a light I had never considered before. What can we learn from roadkill? How can we use roadkill? How can we prevent roadkill? It turns out that there is a lot more to roadkill than a sad pile of fur and bones on the side of a road.
Montgomery shares how scientists use snake roadkill to study the affect invasive pythons have on native species, how zoos save money by using deer roadkill as feed for their animals, and how injured raptors find a second life as educators, teaching people how to help prevent roadkill deaths. I learned a lot reading Something Rotton, and I will never look at Roadkill the same way again. The tone of Montgomery's writing was a bit annoying to me at times, but I think it was because I am an adult reading something aimed at younger readers. The book ends with a reading list for those readers wanting to learn more about the topics discussed in the book. One word of warning though...Something Rotten does not make for good lunchtime reading!

I know, I know. You are thinking, "Roadkill, really? Why do I want to read a book about dead animals? That's gross. I'm an animal lover. I don't want to read about dead animals!"

Well, I'm an animal lover too. I am a huge animal rescue advocate. I've fostered kittens and puppies for multiple local shelters. I donate every month to animal charities near and far. I have multiple fur-kids at home. I'm such a sucker for animals and I hate to think about them hurt or injured, much less dead. I once hit (and killed) a squirrel in my vehicle. I bawled my eyes out...after I went back, got him out of the road and laid him under a tree. (I had visions of his little squirrel friends getting hit too, coming to check on him.)

Look. I'm a softie. I hate to see anything dead in the road but what if those now dead animals didn't die in vain?
What if their death can have a purpose?

That's what this book explores; helping a scientist decipher cancer, tracking wildlife crossings, decreasing species extinction, discovering new species, or feeding the hungry (yes really!). This book is written as a middle-grade, non-fiction. It's well researched and very educational, but it reads like a story. It's educational, but more importantly, entertaining. It's peppered with pictures by illustrator Kevin O'Malley, which are occasionally macabre, but still surprisingly adorable.

The only thing I didn't care for is the ridiculous amount of footnotes. Some of them are interesting and expand on the topic at hand. Some of them are simply explanations or definitions. As an adult, they are annoying. As a child, I loved seeing the little numbers and finding the corresponding footnote to learn more. Since this is meant for middle-grade, they will probably be well received.

Just for the record...it's still filled with grossness. Things I never missed not knowing, like:
"Did you know that fly maggots make a slurch sound? Of course, slurch isn't a real word, but that's onomatopoeia for you."

Blech!