Mission to Madagascar

Kids of all ages are welcome to join Uncle Max, Aunt Martha, and Riley on their adventures to the island of Madagascar. The adventurers will be working with a film crew to study lemurs and other unique animals found no where else in the world. Throughout their travels they'll see hissing cockroaches, painted mantella Frogs, black and white ruffed lemurs, and a variety of other native species. But will the crew find the rare and mysterious aye-aye? Adventures of Riley: Mission to Madagascar is a fun adventure presented in beautiful vibrant colour. This book contains a story with plenty of interesting fact boxes that will both entertain and teach. Hidden clues are also found throughout the book to unlock another online adventure. Included with this book are a special Madagascar sticker, and invitation to become a free member of Riley's world, and a Passport to Riley's World in which to store your free sticker. Moreover, a portion on the sale of each copy of Adventures of Riley: Mission to Madagascar will be donated to the Wildlife Conservation Society and to the World Wildlife Fund.

Reviewed by Cindy Lynn Jacobs for Reader Reviews (8/06) Riley received a letter from Uncle Max (a world-famous biologist) inviting him to join him and his film crew to Madagascar to help search for the mysterious aye-aye lemur. As I began to read the story, I quickly found myself experiencing the same adventure as Riley. Soon we found ourselves immersed in the richness of the East Central Rain Forest and its surrounding wildlife. I roomed with Riley in the lodge while he sat up "thinking about the strange aye-aye, living somewhere in the dark forest." I shuddered when we heard the "tap ... tap ... scratch ... scratch" outside and when we peeked out the window, "two odd lights glowed from the tree branches." Our hearts pounded and we pulled the blankets over our heads, hoping morning would come soon. When we started hunting for the rare and mysterious aye-aye, we discovered many other animals and plant life, such as the fossa--a mongoose-like creature--and the baobab tree whose trunk can sometimes be large enough to make into a house. McIntyre's vivid artwork, blended with actual photographs of animals, bring Lumry and Hurwitz's story to life. The book enables the reader to experience Madagascar with Riley on an exciting, yet realistic level. Kids will relate to Riley's thoughts, actions and emotions as he makes several new discoveries in this unfamiliar ecosystem. "Adventures of Riley: Mission to Madagascar" is a great learning tool for teachers, librarians and conservationists, but can just as easily be used as simple entertainment for any child. The book offers a passport with a sticker to help commemorate the reader's visit to Madagascar. Other great additions to the book include sidebars throughout its pages that highlight interesting facts about specific plants or animals on the island country, a glossary (including such words as nocturnal and endemic) and an invitation for Riley's World Membership Kit. Proceeds from book sales benefit the Wildlife Conservation Society. "Adventures of Riley: Mission to Madagascar" is the recipient of the fall 2005 Book Sense Children's Book Pick and winner of the 2005 Mom's Choice Award. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in engaging in a new and exciting adventure in an unfamiliar land.

Get out your passports, located at the back of The Adventures of Reilly: Mission to Madagascar and join Riley and Uncle Max as they search for the endangered Aye-Aye Lemur. Supporting characters, Aunt Martha and a star struck cousin Alice, join forces with a husband and wife film crew to document the Aye Aye Lemur who is dangerously close to becoming extinct.After a couple days of no sightings, Riley is surprised at the sight of two lights outside his window -- the eyes of the Aye-Aye. Fifth in The Adventures of Reilly series, Mission to Madagascar continues to entertain and educate young children about the ecosystem and the animals that live in it. Illustrated with actual photos of the animals, 8 out of 10 of which are found only on the small island of Madagascar, Mission is able to educate with pictures as well as words. Readers will get the scoop on Hissing Cockroaches, Parsons Chameleons, Painted Mantella Frog and a Fossa, among others. I took this book on a flight to Philadelphia, and by coincidence, sat next to a father with his young son, age 7. I offered the pair the book to pass time and was delighted to watch the boy's reaction. A quick flip through of the pictures, and he immediately saw the included passport and stickers -- devices scattered throughout the book to give the young reader an activity to prove their progress through the book. He and his father spent several minutes examining the pictures and the facts about the animals. Author and photographer Lumry, and series co-creator Wenger, travel the world taking photos and speaking to children about the importance of protecting our environment and conserving wildlife. Mission includes a glossary and sidebars of facts from noted scientists. Suitable for home or classroom and ideal for home-schooling and afterschool activities, Mission is a enchanting journey into other worlds and a doorway into exotic lands with introductions to unusual animals.

This is a thoughtfully designed, well-rendered adventure story that reaches into the world of nature and draws young readers into a landscape that piques curiosity, challenges the imagination and builds vocabulary. When Riley is invited to go on a trip to Africa by his Uncle Max, he's not sure what to expect, but Uncle Max explains that the purpose of the excursion is to locate and film the aye-aye, a rare lemur that only appears at night. Riley has never been to such an exotic location and can't imagine what adventures await. The group will include Uncle Max, Aunt Martha, Cousin Alice and a film crew. The first leg of the journey takes the group to London, then on to the capitol of Madagascar. Once on safari, they run across a variety of unusual species and Riley learns that finding the aye-aye may bring bad luck, or so the legend says. The inquisitive boy certainly tests this theory before the trip is over. While Riley puts on a brave face, Cousin Alice prances around in her feather boa, posing for the camera crew, who has more complicated things to attend to. As the adventure continues, Riley learns an important lesson: it's all right to be scared. As it turns out, the boy is invaluable in discovering the reluctant aye-aye and capturing the animal on film. Not only do the illustrations carry the tale forward, but the vocabulary is appropriately challenging for young readers, the layout optimizing a youngster's interest. Besides the vivid images and lively characters, selected pages feature details of particular interest in this story, facts about animals and insects met along the way, even photographs of some species that blend perfectly into the jungle scenes where a myriad of creatures lurk. At the end of the book is a glossary of terms and an illustrated map of the area around Madagascar, a hidden puzzle and, best of all, a "Passport to Riley's World" that can be detached and filled with stickers from each Riley's adventure book (the Madagascar sticker is included in this volume). There is also a mail-away application form for a membership kit with a copy of the latest Riley newsletter. Lots of extras in this purchase! Riley is the perfect hero for this lively adventure, a little boy filled with curiosity, bravado and the courage to ask grownups for help when necessary. More than a story, this book is a beginning adventure in science and nature, exploring other places all over the globe and saving stickers from these travels in a special passport. Well-designed with young readers in mind, this book will delight and fascinate any child who is interested in nature and the magnificent world around us. Luan Gaines/2005.

We are taken on an exciting trip to Madagascar, an isle of Africa in this fifth installment in the Adventures of Riley series; and what an adventure it is. Riley and his cousin Alice join Uncle Max, Aunt Martha and a film crew as they creep along this mysterious land at night in search of the illusive Lemur. In this book you will learn all the wonderful traits of this incredible little animal, along with facts of other wild life that inhabit this land. Want to know about the Hissing Cockroach and what the Painted Mantella Frog is? How about a tree that looks as if it is growing upside down called a Baobab Tree. Did you know that Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world? So much to learn in this wonderful book that is packed full of delightful colored illustrations, brilliantly filling your minds eye ,bringing every word of this work to life. Great job! You and your children will greatly enriched your lives with the reading of this book. Not only in learning interesting facts about wild life, but gaining an understanding of the importance each creature plays in our world. An absolutely fun learning experience awaits you within its covers. One that you and your children will enjoy reading together and treasure for years to come. Very highly recommended. This is one great book!