I wrote about this fabulous book on Storygraph and Goodreads (with a link sent to Twitter). I'll also share my thoughts in a Instagram story soon (tagging the publisher): https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4802331127

This is a great read for the upper-elementary and middle school science classroom. It is full with engaging information and captivating images. Perfect for study of animal adaptation, habitat, interdependence, and ecosystem.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This book is an excellent resource about snowy owls. Lots of great information and photographs to go along with it.

The Snowy Owl Scientist by Mark Wilson is currently scheduled for release on April 19 2022. Are the snowy owls in trouble? Venture into the Alaskan arctic and the summer realm of these predator birds to find out. Discover the diverse species necessary to owl survival, how climate change is affecting the landscape of their nesting site of past millennia, and what it takes to do field research in this action-packed addition to the award-winning Scientists in the Field series.


It's July on Alaska's North Slope, and scientist Denver Holt is in Utqiagvik surveying nests. Denver has been coming here since 1992, and the snowy owls he studies have been coming here much longer: thousands of years. With its mix of coastal, low-elevation tundra and a rich presence of lemmings, the North Slope is the only area in Alaska where snowy owls regularly nest. How do snowy owls decide where they will nest? How do they manage to arrive at locations where food will be abundant? What drives the success of these delicate tundra ecosystems? These are the mysteries Denver is trying to solve to help ensure a bright future for these elegant hunters.

The Snowy Owl Scientist is a visually stunning book that is clearly a passion project from the author and the research team. The information, charts and graphs, and images are very well done and organized. The information is very detailed, and might be beyond younger readers, although the pictures might well keep them turning pages if their interest in the text wanes. I think this book would be better suited to middle grade and older readers, or high interest readers, rather than the slightly younger readers the initial formatting suggested to me. The book is well written, well organized, and I liked that resources, an index, and a glossary were included in the endpages. I thought the information was valuable, and it would make for a great book for use in a research project or for readers that want a first hand account of what researching animals can really be like.

While the Snowy Owl Scientist was obviously a labor of love, it's not very kid friendly. I was drawn to the book by the amazing cover illustration. The photographs throughout the book are equally amazing, and I enjoyed leafing through them and reading the captions. However, the story of research scientist Denver Holt was way too in depth for my interest, and most likely for kids as well. The interest level is recommended for grades 5-9, but I would put it as 9-12, and even then, only for a kid who's really fascinated with the subject.

Readers are given the unique opportunity to join author/photographer Mark Wilson and scientist Denver Holt on location in Alaska as they learn more about snowy owls. Holt is a scientist dedicated to learning more about the owls, and in this book--thanks to Wilson's outstanding photography and writing, and Holt experience and knowledge--we get a close-up look at the fieldwork involved and learn more about the data collection he pursues. The descriptive language and interesting photos help readers understand processes involved such as defining a location to study, counting and checking owls, photographing in the field and banding. The book ends with suggestion for the reader to pursue. This is an excellent choice for readers interested in science and the focused work of a scientist.. Higly recommended. Here is another volume in an excellent series of books--Scientists in the Field.

Step into the shoes of a researcher hoping to improve our understanding of snowy owls and their connection to the Ukquiavik ecosystem. The reason for the seasons, details on local wildlife with a focus on the snowy owl flow together seamlessly in this engaging non-fiction title. Follow a snowy owl family through a year as they grow and interact with other parts of their habitat. Insights into what life is like in the field, how to help an injured owl, and how the warming Arctic is impacting their survival make this text easy for kids to connect with on multiple levels. New bolded terms are also organized in a short glossary at the close of the text as well as further references and an index. A great book for aspiring young scientists and conservationists.

I can tell this was a passion project. It's dense with great scientific information, charts, and photos. Seems like a good book for an elementary library for a child to pick up to work on a research project. It reads like a textbook though so I don't know if most would pick up to read "just because". Still, if you like owls and animal biology it could be for you! It's definitely well done.

Thank you to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Snowy Owl Scientist is densely packed with information and beautiful pictures of snowy owls and the research conducted on them and their environments. It goes in-depth about what a researcher of snowy owls (or other migratory birds) does daily, how they collect data, the types of data collected, and the equipment they use. The professional pathway of the scientist who is the main focus of the book is related in detail, providing kids who are interested in being field researchers with ideas for how to reach that goal themselves. The habitat, migratory habits, dietary needs, and reproductive cycle of the snowy owl are covered thoroughly with plenty of informative visual aids. This is an engaging, detailed glimpse into the life of a wildlife biologist doing field research that would be appropriate for middle-grades and up.