High-stakes adventure meets cutting-edge anthropology in this true account of the groundbreaking discovery of Homo naledi, which shocked the world of evolutionary science and redefined what it means to be human, written for young readers by a Sibert Medalist and a nationally-recognized educator.

“Are you brave enough?” That’s what anthropologist Keneiloe Molopyane texted one of her graduate students, inviting her to join a dangerous underground search for a mysterious new human ancestor, Homo naledi. Would she dare to slide through the tight spaces and sheer drops of the Rising Star cave in South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind, to help unlock the secrets of a tiny chamber filled with literally hundreds of fossilized bones?

Join us as we follow the exciting explorations of Dr. Molopyane, along with six female excavators known as the Underground Astronauts, the dynamic, controversial leader Dr. Lee Berger, and others as they puzzle over the remains of this strange new species with much smaller brains than ours who may have buried their dead, made tools, used fire, and left markings on rocks. Guided by Sibert Medal–winner author Marc Aronson and teacher John S. Mead, whose sixth-grade science class followed many stages of the exploration as it happened, Reading the Bones: Homo naledi and the Mysteries of Human Evolution is real science in real time. Packed with drawings, maps, and a variety of resources, this is a thrilling introduction to scientific explorers on the front lines of the hunt for connections between humans and our primate relatives and ancestors.

Are you ready to join the quest?