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10 young adult books for readers of all ages who want to learn

Don't avoid these titles because they're billed for younger readers. These are fascinating books for all ages.

10. "Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa’s Fastest Cats," by Sy Montgomery

  • By Ross Atkin

(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 80 pp.)

A wealth of photos are used to tell the story of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, an organization led by American Laurie Marker that has rescued more than 900 of the slender cats from extinction since 1990. This is part of the Scientists in the Field series that focuses on “where science meets adventure."

Here's an excerpt from "Chasing Cheetahs":

“Even on the three-hour drive from Windhoek, the modern capital of Namibia (the country to the west of South Africa and Botswana, near Africa’s southern tip), we can see we’re in for a wild ride. And at our destination, we’re greeted by a scene so heart-stopping that it’s easy to understand why folks come from around the world to see it.

“A tall, smiling woman dressed in black, her curly salt-and-pepper hair flowing like a mane, is striding toward us – with a ninety-pound black-and-gold-spotted cat at her side. Walking on a leash as calmly as a dog is a predator who can run as fast as a car races on a highway. It’s a full-grown cheetah – the fastest predatory animal on earth, and Africa’s most endangered cat.”

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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