This book discusses endangered rhinos. It begins by discussing Terri Roth. She works with endangered animals and breeds them. Terri Roth wants a rhino, Emi to finally deliver a live calf. She carefully studies Emi and her mate to make sure their calf is born. She finally delivers Andalas. The book also lists rhino field guides and vocabulary. It would be a great book to have in a Science classroom. ( )

Z loved this look at efforts by zoo scientists to save endangered Sumatran rhinos via breeding in captivity. If you are uncomfortable with lots of talk about ovulation, skip it. Otherwise, it's a another great volume from the Smithsonian Scientists In The Field series. ( )

Mary Kay Carson’s “Emi and the Rhino Scientist” is a work of nonfiction that belongs to the “Scientist in the Field” series. This particular book is both a field guide and a specialized information book about scientist Terri Roth and her involvement in breeding Sumatran rhinos in captivity. This book tells the moving story of Emi, a rare Sumatran rhino, and her journey from Sumatra to the Cincinnati Zoo. The Sumatran rhino is on the verge of extinction, and scientist and activists throughout the world are researching ways to prevent this. Emi‘s story begins when Terri tries to successfully breed her in captivity. This has not been done in over a hundred years, but Emi’s mate Ipuh seems a likely candidate. Unfortunately, Emi suffers five miscarriages before Terri incorporates breeding techniques used in horses to help Emi’s pregnancies. Thankfully, a baby boy is born in 2001 and a baby girl in 2004.

I would argue that this book is extremely accurate even though Carson’s credentials are not listed in her biography. I looked up her personal website and found that she has a degree in biology and has extensive experience in dealing with animals. She even attended a year of high school at the Cincinnati Zoo Academy. I also learned that she has a great personal relationship with Terri Roth, and got her to personally retell the story of Emi and review transcripts of the book. Since Carson has such a great relationship with the scientist, I would believe that this book is accurate in telling the story of Emi and Sumatran rhinos. This is definitely a scientific work and accuracy is at its heart.

The scope of the book is Terri Roth’s involvement with Emi and her pregnancies. But the focus shifts to include information about rhinos including their habitats, mating routines, reproductive biology, predators, poaching, diet, etc. The depth of this book is obviously very profound because it talks about this particular rhino and her breed while discussing all the other types of rhinos and their biology. This book has very complex and multifaceted areas of interest and presents each clearly and seamlessly and gives readers a thorough basic understanding of rhinos and their biology.

Carson’s writing style is both clear and precise, and the content is carefully organized. Readers are introduced to rhinos and then told about Emi and Roth’s special situation. Also the language is appropriate for the target audience. Carson does a great job in explaining terms that might be new to readers within the text while succinctly and appropriately addressing a scientific or social topic that is complex. Carson’s writing is particularly emotionally charged when discussing Emi’s many miscarriages and the problem of poaching. I can tell that Carson is very interested in promoting and preserving the wellness of these animals, and her writing will get readers excited about the topic of preservation. She also draws the reader in with her great introduction. The first page pictures an image of Roth looking at a sonogram machine and describes the excitement of looking at a baby through sonogram. We are not exactly sure what kind of baby this is, but Carson hooks you in immediately with the excitement of this pregnancy and has readers flipping the next page to see what happens. Also each chapter smoothly connects with the next. Carson talks at the end of one chapter about how precious Andalas is and how important it is that these animals not reach extinction, and the next chapter is entitled “Help For Wild Rhinos.” Her writing style is very conversational and clear. No figurative language is used in text, and it does have the appearance of a scientific book, but Carson does a great job of not making the language sound too technical. She uses phrases like “cool” in her writing to connect with younger audiences, and she really connects with readers by writing about a topic that is so emotionally charged. It is heartbreaking to think that this breed because of its trusting nature is routinely poached and that only 300 still survive in the wild. Carson presents the success of Roth’s experiment to deliver a healthy baby rhino as a life or death situation, and it really is. If researchers do not figure out why these animals aren’t reproducing in captivity, it is likely that these majestic creatures will be extinct in our lifetime. Her tone is without a doubt persuasive, and she successfully gets readers interested in the topic and wondering what they can do to help.

The overall organization of the book is topical since Carson covers many different themes throughout the work. She begins by giving background information on CREW and what they do to try and prevent extinction. She next talks about the general biology of the different types of rhinos before focusing on Sumatran rhinos. She then talks about the process and discoveries of matting Emi and Ipuh before going into the preservation of theses creatures. The organization is also semi-chronological because it follows the life and pregnancies of Emi. Carson talks about how Emi was brought to the zoo and then discusses each pregnancy. Since the scientific topic is reproduction, it makes sense that the organization would be chronological as well.

In terms of reference aides, the book is divided into titled chapters that help organize the information while also letting readers know the topics that will be covered. The chapter titles are not particularly creative, but they do let readers know that at the end an entire chapter is devoted to helping make sure these animals do not go extinct. There is a table of contents to keep the information organized, and Carson has included a great amount of additional reference aides. There is an extensive index along with a wonderful field guide that tells readers all about the five different types of rhinos. She even includes maps for kids to see where these animals are found in the wild. There is a great glossary that is easy to read and helps kids with scientific terms they might not know. For the older age groups, some of these words might be inappropriate such as habitat, but words like keratin, induced ovulator, and artificial insemination might be new. Carson also includes websites for kids to look up more information on rhino and lists books about rhinos and conservation. I also particularly enjoyed the “What’s Everyone Up to Now” section which lets readers know ways to get updates on all the rhinos we learned. I was so happy with this book and intrigued with the subject matter, that I looked up more information about Roth and Emi. It broke my heart to learn that Emi died in 2009. Ipuh and Suci are still in Cincinnati, and Andalas is in Sumatra and became a dad in 2012! There is also an acknowledgement that recognizes Roth’s help in consulting and editing the book.

The illustrations really make the book and line every page. The cover is particularly moving because it shows Roth lovingly petting Emi’s head while she is in her pin. She is probably being observed during her pregnancy, but it looks as though the elephant is smiling with a happy expression in her eyes. Roth too is looking at Emi with care and admiration, and this image lets the reader immediately know that these two share a special bond. Also on the cover, the design of the title lets the reader know that the image must be of Emi and the Rhino Scientist. Emi’s name is in a color very similar to the foreground while “And the Rhino Scientist” is boldly in white. Since this series focuses on scientists in the field, I assume the publisher wanted readers to focus on the rhino scientist and not necessarily the subject matter. Throughout the text, readers see all of the science involved in the process of getting Emi a healthy baby since scenes in the lab and sonogram machines are present throughout. Images of the many different types of rhinos help readers make distinctions, and the many images of Andalas and Suci’s show their development. I also enjoyed the many pictures featuring Emi and Roth. I can tell that they have a special bond, which only drew me emotionally further into this narrative. Every image has a caption explain it, and every image is relatable to something described in the surrounding text. I also enjoyed how every page’s layout was different to highlight the image presented and break up the text. This attracts readers to the images and gets them excited about what they will learn about them.

Although this book is scientific in nature, I believe I could use it in a geography class. As a future secondary social studies teacher, I could use this book as supplemental reading when discussing the ecosystems of Africa and Asia since this is where rhinos are found. I could also discuss the problem of poaching when discussing modern world history since many of these areas still partake in killing these animals for the minerals found in their horns. I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to using it in my class no matter the grade or subject. I think I could make it work for the subject area I will be teaching, and I think the subject matter will speak to students on an emotional level. We could go to the zoo and see the rhinos there. I know there is an information sign about the problem of poaching with this animal, and I could use this topic in a world history or economic based lesson. I could also talk about the legislation in place to prevent this problem.

To answer other questions about the book:
1. The field of science in which this scientist is engaged is reproductive biology.
2. The question she asks is if it is possible to breed Sumatran rhinos in captivity and what makes it so difficult sometimes. What came first is the observation since it has been over one hundred years since a Sumatran rhino was born in captivity. Researchers have been wondering for decades why these animals have not reproduced and now they are answering those questions.
3. Pg 1: Roth is looking at a sonogram of Emi during pregnancy. She is analyzing data.
Pg 18 Emi and Ipuh are put together without any hormone therapy for the first time-this would be the initial experiment.
Pg 18 Picture of Teri looking at Emi’s hormone test results. She is gathering information
Pg 21 Roth puts the rhinos together every day to see when Emi would ovulate. This would be experimentation
Pg 22 They observe the rhinos and then realize that Ipuh only tried to mate when she was ovulating. This is the hypothesis
Pg 22 Emi continually miscarries her pregnancies. This is observation.
Pg 23 Introduce hormone replacement therapy-experiment

4. The scientist’s hypothesis is that Sumatran rhinos are induced ovulators. They haven’t been mating in captivity because they usually keep rhinos separated out of fear of fighting, and since this breed is so rare, few scientists know all that much. Apparently this breed of rhinos is the only breed that are induced ovulators and that could be why they are having such problems breeding in captivity. Roth discovered this anomaly and now scientists are taking this into consideration when breeding this breed in captivity.
5. Roth routinely studied Emi’s ovulation cycles and took blood samples and sonograms to chart her ovulation. She then allowed the rhinos to mate and tracked each pregnancy. After the five miscarriages, Roth took her background in breeding horses and applied it to rhinos. She incorporated hormones and other therapies into Emi’s diet during pregnancy and was relieved to see Emi carry the baby to term. During Emi’s next pregnancy, Roth did not use any additional supplements, and Emi carried the baby to term. This made Roth believe that since Emi had already had a healthy pregnancy, her body had somehow fixed everything that was out of whack during her second pregnancy.
6. Now that Emi had successfully birthed a healthy baby on her own, Roth now believes that Emi has somehow fixed her previous problems, and now researchers understand the reproductive biology of Sumatran rhinos. Roth admits she has a lot to still understand with this breed since they do not fully understand why this breed is still having problems breeding in captivity, but they have reached a certain level of success with Emi. ( )

In this book we meet Terri Roth, who has been trying to help Emi the rhino give birth to a baby. Emi had five miscarriages before giving birth to Andalas, the new baby rhinoceros. During the "living things" unit I will do a book walk with the students, just providing a summary of the book and showing off the pictures and captions. The book will then be made available to students on their own for pleasure or as part of their research project. ( )

Very refreshing to see a book about female scientist. This book follows a biologist in the field as she tries to help endangered rhinos reproduce. She is finally successful with her research and experiments that a bay rhino is born with the help of in vitro fertilization. ( )