Reading the Bones: Homo Naledi and the Mysteries of Human Evolution

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

High-stakes adventure meets cutting-edge anthropology in this true account of the groundbreaking discovery of Homo naledi, which shocked the world of evolutionary science and redefined what it means to be human, written for young readers by a Sibert Medalist and a nationally-recognized educator.

"Are you brave enough?" That's what anthropologist Keneiloe Molopyane texted one of her graduate students, inviting her to join a dangerous underground search for a mysterious new human ancestor, Homo naledi. Would she dare to slide through the tight spaces and sheer drops of the Rising Star cave in South Africa's Cradle of Humankind, to help unlock the secrets of a tiny chamber filled with literally hundreds of fossilized bones?

Join us as we follow the exciting explorations of Dr. Molopyane, along with six female excavators known as the Underground Astronauts, the dynamic, controversial leader Dr. Lee Berger, and others as they puzzle over the remains of this strange new species with much smaller brains than ours who may have buried their dead, made tools, used fire, and left markings on rocks. Guided by Sibert Medal-winner author Marc Aronson and teacher John S. Mead, whose sixth-grade science class followed many stages of the exploration as it happened, Reading the Bones: Homo naledi and the Mysteries of Human Evolution is real science in real time. Packed with drawings, maps, and a variety of resources, this is a thrilling introduction to scientific explorers on the front lines of the hunt for connections between humans and our primate relatives and ancestors.

Are you ready to join the quest?

Author: Marc Aronson,John S. Mead
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Published: 08/04/2026
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 7.90h x 6.30w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780374392314
Audience: Ages 9-12


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 05/18/2026
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2026
School Library Journal 06/01/2026 pg. 108
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 07/01/2026
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2026 pg. 102
Booklist 07/01/2026

About the Author

Marc Aronson has been an innovative editor and author of books for young readers for over thirty years. The winner of the first Robert Sibert medal, and editor of the tenth winner (Tanya Lee Stone's Almost Astronauts), Aronson is a passionate advocate of nonfiction. As an editor he created EDGE--the first international and multicultural YA imprint--where he published such artists as Jacqueline Woodson, Nikki Giovanni, and the first YA graphic novel memoir, Judd Winnick's Pedro and Me. The Skull in the Rock, which he wrote with Dr. Berger about the discovery of sediba, won the Subaru award for best middle grade science book. Aronson holds a PhD from NYU in American cultural history and is an Associate Professor of Public Professional Practice at Rutgers University, where he trains future youth librarians.

John S. Mead has been awarded the John H. Murrell Excellence in Teaching Award (St. Mark's School of Texas), the National Association of Biology Teachers Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for the State of Texas, the inaugural Evolution Teaching Award from the Teacher Institute of Evolutionary Studies (TIES), and the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) Evolution Education Award. John serves as a science advisor for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas and is the only K12 member of the Education Board of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists. In 2019, John was selected to be a Teacher Ambassador for the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) as they sought to expand their classroom influence related to topics of evolution and climate change. He has served as President of the Texas Association of Biology Teachers.

Tim Foley has worked for four decades as an illustrator for newspapers, magazines, and books, including over thirty titles in the popular "Who Was" biography series and the graphic novel adaptation of Dan Rather's What Unites Us. He lives in Michigan.