How to Babysit a Leopard: And Other True Stories from Our Travels Across Six Continents

Ardent wildlife explorers, the Lewins take readers on a whirlwind tour of their travels, beginning with a 1970 trip to East Africa, where they spotted enormous herds of wildebeests and zebras, a gazelle, and a rare black rhino. Organized geographically rather than chronologically, this anecdotal travelogue incorporates information on animal habits and habitats, as well as human lifestyles, beliefs, and traditions. Unafraid of recounting gory or somber discoveries during their travels, the authors share plenty of incidents that will ensnare readers of any age, including a tense moment when a lion charged their truck in Botswana and the amusing discovery of a cane rat “dancing” with a tube of toothpaste in their tent in Mongolia. (In Botswana, they also came across the headless carcass of a kudu antelope in a river, with catfish “wriggling and writhing like living entrails” in its chest cavity.) Immediate and powerful, this retrospective underscores the Lewins’ intrepid spirit of adventure, keen powers of observation, and mutual devotion, as well as the remarkable range of species they’ve encountered, which are spotlighted in a wealth of drawings and photos that bring their explorations to even fuller life. Ages 8–14. (June)■