title: Strange Creatures: The Story of Walter Rothschild and His Museum
author:  Lita Judge 
description: K-Gr 3-Behind his extreme shyness and speech difficulties, Rothschild had a brilliant mind and endless fascination with exotic animals. When he was seven, he decided his goal was to create a museum filled with specimens of unusual creatures from around the world. Although his parents bought him kangaroos, kiwis, lizards, and other exotic animals, his father insisted that Walter enter his banking business when he became an adult. Using his salary and assets from his family's fortune, the young man financed collectors who traveled around the globe to locate unusual animals and ship the specimens back to England. By the time he was 24, his dream museum had become a reality. Over his lifetime, Rothschild named thousands of new species and published hundreds of scientific papers. He also kept many unusual animals on his estate, including the zebras he used to pull his carriage. Judge's picture-book biography of the shy genius may encourage readers to follow their own creative ideas, although few people possess the wealth of the Rothschilds. Watercolor paintings help readers visualize the Victorian era. An extensive author's note provides more details about the zoologist's life and explains how wildlife studies have changed since his time. The web addresses in the book for the Natural History Museum at Tring and the Natural History Museum, London, are incorrect. Although the unusual subject is handled adequately, this title is a supplemental purchase for most libraries.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
zlib_text: ## CHAPTER VIII
  
  
  I lay concealed and Babs stood at the lattice of our cage room. I was aware
  that Polter had entered some vast apartment[Pg 65] of this giant palace. The
  light outside was brighter; I heard voices—Polter's and another man's. I could
  see the distant monster shape of one. He was at first so far away that all his
  outline was visible. A seated man in a huge white room. I thought there were
  great shelves with enormous bottles. The spread of table tops passed under our
  cage as Polter walked by them. They held a litter of apparatus, and there was
  the smell of chemicals in the air. This seemed to be a laboratory.
  
  
  The man stood up to greet Polter. I had a glimpse of his head and shoulders.
  He wore a white linen coat, open, soft collar and black tie. He seemed an old
  man, queerly old, with snow-white hair.
  
  
  I had an instant of whirling impressions. Something was familiar about his
  face. It was wrinkled and seamed with lines of age and care. There were gentle
  blue eyes.
  
  
  Then