Anthropologist: Scientist of the People

I gave this book to my 3 yr old neice and 6 yr old nephew, and they were as fascinated by it as their mother and father were. The pictures are wonderful and the text really gives you the feel of what the lives of one of the last groups of hunter gatherers in the world are like. And it paints a detailed and fascinating picture of what it is like to be an anthropologist studying and loving a people whose lives are so different from our own. A really enjoyable book.

This biography of the young Venezuelan anthropologist Magdalena Hurtado provides a very clear description of her fieldwork among one of the world's last foraging peoples, the Ache indians of Paraguay. This beautifully illustated book provides the best available introduction for young readers of what it is an anthropologist does. Although the publishers recommend the book for ages 9-12, my guess is that students in junior high and high school --perhaps especially young women -- will find the book both informative and inspirational.