Local author Rachael Freeman Long will hold a book launch celebration and signing event from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at The Pleasant Pheasant Bookstore at 1059 Court St. STE 109 in Woodland.
Her book, “See You Later, Alligator,” shares the story of the lives of alligators through the eyes of two boys touring a swamp versus the boys’ perceptions of the reptiles in comics.
“She hopes that these different viewpoints will inspire a sense of curiosity about how animals perceive our world for enhanced wildlife conservation,” a press release from Yorkshire Publishing explained. “[The book] is perfect for teachers, librarians or homeschoolers who want to capture the attention of grade school children and teach them about our natural world.”
Long said she is passionate about wildlife and humans safely coexisting for a healthy world. She hopes her book shows readers why alligators are needed in the wild, how they sense the world and how people can all live together safely for everyone’s benefit.
“We need to learn to share our world with wildlife,” Long emphasized. “A healthy world depends on shared values.”
Long is a UC Cooperative Extension Advisor, Emeritus and a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Davis. She has a master’s in sciences degree in biology and her work focuses on habitat restoration on farmlands with a special interest in looking for ways to share the world with wildlife.
Long retired from her UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor position last year after 37 years doing research on crop production, pollination and pest control and collaborating with farmers.
Long is the recipient of the UC Bradford-Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award and is author of the Black Rock Desert trilogy.
Currently, she lives on a Zamora farm with her husband, two dogs and hedgerows that support an abundance of wildlife, according to the release.
Her book is also available online at zamorastories.com.
Other stories by Long include a bat-centered trilogy including “Gold Fever,” “Valley of Fire” and “River of No Return,” which follow the story of three main characters as they bring a poaching ring to justice in the Black Rock Desert.
Long completed the trilogy in 2016 and said she was inspired to write them because her son enjoyed stories about a boy, a bat and a coyote on long commutes.
“He liked them so much for so many years that I decided I needed to write them down and share them with others,” Long said in August 2016. “My interest is in science literacy and I really wanted to share with kids what a wonderful, natural world we live in and teach kids a little about natural history, the lives of animals, where they live and their geography.”
“See You Later, Alligator” is Long’s first book since “River of No Return” launched eight years ago.
