A CASE STUDY IN SCIENCE WRITING FOR KIDS

Writing a science article for kids can be like walking a tightrope over a landscape of illusions. On one side lie the inviting but deadly waters of preachy prose, encyclopedic exposition, and adult-speak. On the other side, the jagged outcrops of manic overstatement, strained efforts at hip language, and patronizing cuteness may actually look like steppingstones. At the far end of the tightrope is the goal: an engaging article that gives kids insight into science. Here’s a case study in good balance.—Andy Boyles is science editor of Highlights for Children.

A LIFELINE FOR LIONS

Could these wild cats be saved from a deadly disease?

by Pamela S. Turner

• The author has chosen a high-interest subject: a big, furry animal. This decision may seem obvious. I wish it were more so. I receive countless submissions from writers eager to make DNA repair, ion transport, or some other difficult subject “accessible to kids.” That can be done, but just because something is accessible doesn’t mean it’s interesting. At Highlights, we do sometimes publish articles about difficult topics. For example, NASW member Sara Latta wrote an excellent piece for us about the discovery of the top quark (Highlights, August 1996). But the competition for space in our magazine is lively. If I can get one or two such articles a year and persuade others here that we should publish them, I’m doing well. To draw in more readers, pick a subject that’s already of high interest—lions, dinosaurs, robots, volcanoes, etc.

All over the Serengeti, the lions were in trouble

Tourists in a hot-air balloon were the first to notice. As the tourists were flying low over the savannah, they spotted a big cat lying on the ground. This lion wasn’t lazing around, as lions do when they are not hunting. It was shaking and shivering.

The tourists called the park veterinarian, Dr. Melody Roelke. She watched the lion, but didn’t know what was wrong.

• The author begins with an anecdote, immediately letting the reader know that this article involves conflict and that something worthwhile is at stake. In other words, it’s a story. For some readers no story line is required; they would read almost anything about lions. But with a collection of facts about lions, we would miss an opportunity to show science in action—science as an ongoing, self-correcting process.

The Serengeti is a large wildlife park in Tanzania where no hunting is allowed. The Serengeti might seem like a safe place, but wild animals face dangers other than guns. In this case, the danger was disease.

• Many writers would be tempted to give a blow-by-blow history of the park and the threats posed by poachers. The lessons inherent in that story can come another day. The author stays focused on the story at hand.

Lions began to die all over the park. “After ten days, it was clear something extraordinary was going on,” says Dr. Craig Packer, a biologist at the University of Minnesota. He has studied lions for 25 years. “We had no idea what it was, and we were afraid we might never know.”

• Direct quotations. Yes, the author interviewed a key player in the story. Clearly, at no point did she take the attitude that the article could be less than engaging because it was “just for kids.”

Usually, veterinary science focuses on the kinds of animals that are most important to people—pets and livestock. Wildlife diseases are not well understood. Dr. Packer and Dr. Roelke sent blood and tissue samples from dead lions to experts in different countries. One expert was able to solve the mystery. The lions were dying of distemper, a disease commonly found in pet dogs.

Small but Deadly

• The author points out that scientists have something to learn. In the next sentence, the reader begins to see science at work.

Distemper is caused by a virus. (Viruses cause many diseases, including measles, polio, and the common cold.) Sometimes an animal’s body can fight off the distemper virus.

But if it can’t, the virus invades the animal’s nervous system. Distemper can cause fever, shaking, and finally death.

• These two paragraphs contain some straight exposition, which we usually discourage. But by this point in the story, the reader wants to know and is glad to have the facts.

In 1994, just before the distemper outbreak, there were an estimated three thousand lions in the Serengeti. “Over ninety percent of the Serengeti’s lions were infected,” says Dr. Packer.

• For young readers, these deaths will be disturbing. Whenever possible, we present this kind of information only when it is accompanied or followed by a hopeful sign or signs, which come later.

“About one thousand lions died.” Many other animals also died—leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, and bat-eared foxes.

How could a wild lion or leopard catch a disease from a pet? Serengeti National Park is huge—larger than the state of Connecticut—but there are farms and villages all around it. In those villages and on those farms are about thirty thousand dogs.

• At this point, there is no need to lecture the reader about the interconnectedness of all living things. The fact that these diverse species were all affected by the same disease says a great deal, and with a specificity that will stay with many readers and reinforce later lessons about the unseen ways in which one species depends on another.

The disease is spread like a cold from dogs to wildlife. “We think hyenas are the key,” says Dr. Packer. If a hyena looks for food in a village garbage dump, it may come into contact with an infected dog. Then the hyena may take distemper back into the park.

“Hyenas move over large distances and hang out around lions’ kills,” Dr. Packer says. From the hyenas, the distemper probably spread to lions and other animals.

Lion Lovers Respond

• …which means hyenas eat dogs and dog feces. The predation of a pet, even someone else’s, is potentially disturbing. In fact, this fact could even overshadow the rest of the story for some readers. To keep the reader focused on the story at hand, we left it out.

When people heard about the sick and dying lions, offers of help poured in from all over the world. Major funding came from the World Society for the Protection of Animals and several companies.

• The author introduces a hopeful note, much-needed at this point.

“We began vaccinating dogs around the Serengeti against distemper,” says Dr. Packer. “That was the beginning of Project Lifelion.”

Why vaccinate dogs instead of the lions themselves? “It is a lot easier to catch and vaccinate thirty thousand dogs than three thousand lions,” explains Dr. Packer. “Many lions are very shy, and live in remote areas. And vaccinating lions would do nothing for the other animals at risk—hyenas, leopards, wild dogs, and foxes.”

• It’s hard to estimate the value of this insight, although I’m convinced it’s high. The scientists’ approach is likely to surprise the reader. I think kids will also appreciate the creativity involved in solving a difficult problem like this one.

Healthier Pets

Project Lifelion has been vaccinating dogs around the Serengeti since 1995. Before Project Lifelion, the Tanzanian Veterinary Service took care of cattle, goats, and sheep, but not pets. With funding from Project Lifelion, the veterinarians now offer free distemper shots for dogs. They also give rabies vaccinations. Although people can’t catch distemper from dogs, they can get rabies.

• For the first time, the author reveals that the action in this story took place in the mid-1990s. But it is not “old news” to our readers. It’s an important event, well worth knowing. Well-informed adults may recall this story from coverage at the time. But many of our readers had not even been born by then. To them, it will be as fresh and interesting as if it just happened.

“Local people are happy with the program,” says Dr. Packer. “We’re saying, ‘If you have a dog, let’s make it a healthy dog.’ We tell them it is for the lions, and that is OK, too. They know lions bring tourists, and tourism brings jobs.”

A Circle of Protection

Project Lifelion aims to encircle the Serengeti with a ring of vaccinated dogs. This should prevent any future distemper outbreaks. New dogs are born or move into the area every year, so Project Lifelion will need to continue as long as lions roam the Serengeti.

• The author points out that Lifelion’s approach to the problem takes into consideration the realities and concerns of the people who live in the area. Highlights values sensitivity toward others, and this article has helped promote that quality among our readers.

The lions are now doing well—very well. Only three years after the terrible distemper outbreak of 1994, the lion population had rebounded to three thousand. Today, there are about four thousand lions. “There seem to be more lions than ever,” says Dr. Packer. “The Serengeti is still a rich and robust place.”

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Article reprinted with permission from Highlights for Children, January 2004.

Now we have it all:

• An animal of high interest to kids
• A strong conflict, resolved through the acts of caring, thoughtful people
• Science as a process, and finally,
• A happy ending.

Not every article can deliver so much in 800 words. Often, the topic simply won’t allow it. An article about how a CD-ROM works is not likely to have the emotional appeal that this article has. So “A Lifeline for Lions” doesn’t represent a formula to follow. Instead, it’s a great example of how an appealing but difficult subject can be done in a way that agrees with Highlights.

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PHOTO: LION
PHOTO COURTESY OF HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN

PHOTO: VET
PHOTO COURTESY OF HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN

PHOTOS: Highlights cover and spread.