That cover alone is going to be enough to grab the attention of a young reader. Honestly, you want to know more about this book without any title or other information. Once you open this book you'll find a step by step exploration of a scientific study - from the first discovery of a question through the steps and limitations of the study that followed. It's accessible and compelling, and might encourage a young reader to look at their own environment through a lens of curiosity.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lerner Publishing for the ARC of this glowing non-fiction!

This was extremely interesting! We’re always looking for more science books in our homeschool and my kids love animals, so this drew me in with the adorable creature on the cover. It focused primarily on the scientific investigation around the glowing animals; questions that were asked, hypothesis tested, how scientists worked together across fields, and more, though it did touch on the animals themselves; the glowing, habits and habitats, and adaptations and natural selection. The whole thing was fascinating and my 7 and 10 year old’s really enjoyed it.

Kiddo (9) was interested in this at first but then lost interest as it went along and we ended up putting it down about halfway through. I think the reason for that is that kiddo is interested in the animals and cool facts about them, and this is more about how to do science. The glowing mammals are just the vehicle for teaching about how research and discoveries work which, granted, can be a little boring.

It's well-written, and there is a lot of good information here. I think it would be better for kids who are a little older and who have moved beyond being interested in science facts into wanting to know how to do science and become scientists. I have no doubt kiddo will get there, but he's a little young yet.

The fonts chosen for the chapter titles and intros and section headers are very hard to read. I would definitely recommend changing them to improve accessibility.

I like that there are many pictures included to help illustrate the concepts being covered.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Millbrook Press for providing an early copy for review.

This was a very interesting book all about animals that glow under UV light. I learned so much about biofluorescence and all of the different animals that do it. I loved reading about how scientists did their investigations and conducted their experiments. Overall, this was a really fun book!

Mysterious Glowing Mammals: An Unexpected Discovery Sparks a Scientific Investigation by Maria Parrott-Ryan is currently scheduled for release on September 5 2023. Late one night, ecologist Jonathan Martin was searching for tree frogs in his Wisconsin backyard when he made an unexpected discovery. As he shined an ultraviolet flashlight in the direction of a high-pitched chirp, Martin saw a flash of bright pink at his bird feeder. That pink glow was coming from a flying squirrel. What was going on? You’re probably familiar with some kinds of glowing animals. Fireflies light up summer nights. Bioluminescent jellyfish and other sea creatures fill our oceans. But some animals glow only under ultraviolet light. This is called biofluorescence. That flying squirrel Martin found turned out to be one of the first-ever recorded sightings of a biofluorescent mammal. Follow along with Martin and his colleagues as they delve into the mystery of the flying squirrels and discover that they aren’t the only glowing mammals out there!

Mysterious Glowing Mammals is an interesting and informative read. I like the balance of personal experiences of the researchers and related information that was shared in the book. The process of confirming and expanding on scientific finding was interesting to see, and might inspire young readers to observe and explore the world around them like Martin did. The pictures included are well placed and do a great job of illustrating the point and giving readers a visual reference for the topic at hand. The information about the different scientific specialties and how they are all very different and still overlap when trying to find answers is an important point that many of us often forget about, I learned a great deal in this book and I think many other readers will as well. I found the book to be engaging and well researched, and love how a glossary, bibliography, and recommended reading for those interested in learning more are included in the endpages. I feel like these important details are too often left out of children's (and sometimes adult) non fiction books.

This book was fascinating! As if reading about a scientist who accidentally discovered a bioflourescent squirrel wasn’t enough, the book also detailed how they discovered different species and the science behind the special trait.