The Locators (Paperback)

Explore the unknown in this thrilling adventure that has readers solving real-world problems!

The Locators are on the job! Two kids solving problems in the world using maps, technology, and spatial thinking, the Locators are determined to help those who need it. After crash landing in the Amazon during their first mission, Lucy, Oliver, and Moe the Parrot embark on an exciting adventure through South America. It’s up to Lucy and her friends to find and protect several endangered species that are in immediate jeopardy. From rockslides in the Andes mountains to volcano eruptions in the Galapagos Islands, the team experiences it all as they rush to complete their mission in time. Will you help them succeed?

Using different color maps and clues, readers can help the Locators on each step of their journey by completing the illustrated activity at the end of each chapter. This hands-on approach encourages critical and spatial thinking, while also reinforcing reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Full of fun, full-color illustrations, activities, and tons of facts about endangered species, habitats, and more, this adventure keeps kids interested and makes learning easy.

At the end of the story, readers can get their own Locator member ID number and become part of the team!

Glossary included.

Kyle Bauer is a product engineer on the Learn ArcGIS team at Esri, where he writes GIS tutorials based on real-world scenarios. He has been with Esri for six years and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California Los Angeles with a degree in English and geography. His goal is to teach GIS in a way that is understandable to people without advanced technical knowledge of the software.

Colleen Conner has served 17 years as a corporate librarian at Esri, where she has devoted herself to building what is now one of the world's largest physical and virtual collections of maps and GIS-focused material. The Esri Library provides online GIS resources to educators, students, and the GIS community worldwide, and keeps Esri at the forefront of GIS research. Conner assists researchers and software developers, helping maintain the company's position on the cutting edge of location-based technology. Over the course of her career—spanning more than 22 years, working in both libraries and museums—she has championed the development of early spatial-thinking skills and recognized the need for children's educational materials.

Wesley Jones is a professional cartographer and has worked at Esri for over a decade. Born in Calgary, Canada he studied geography and history at the University of Calgary before specializing in cartography at the Centre of Geographic Sciences in Nova Scotia. He now calls Redlands, California home. When he is not making maps, he is drawing, and has illustrated a comic and several books. Wes enjoys sports and being outside, but he especially enjoys storytelling. According to his children, his claim to fame is his bedtime stories.