In 1963, Dian Fossey spent all her savings and took out a bank loan to fulfill her dream of going to Africa; it was the beginning of a journey that led to her drastically altering scientific and public perceptions of mountain gorillas. Unforgotten: The Wild Life of Dian Fossey and Her Relentless Quest to Save Mountain Gorillas by Anita Silvey, recounts Fossey’s life and work so that younger readers can come to know this extraordinary woman’s accomplishments, which still resonate today. Fossey had no experience or formal scientific training, but she was smart, passionate, and strong-willed — and she connected with paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey, who helped her reach her goal of studying animals in the wild. Fossey set up a research camp in Rwanda and threw herself into tracking and observing mountain gorillas. Over the next 18 years, Fossey got closer to gorillas than any human ever had. In 1973, Fossey recorded only 275 gorillas living in Volcanoes National Park, and there are more than twice that many today as a result of decades of ardent conversation efforts that she initiated.

Written for middle graders, Unforgotten is filled with captivating photographs and fascinating facts about both Dian Fossey and her treasured mountain gorillas. Young readers will learn about a gorilla’s typical day, including diet and sleeping habits, and how she came up with their names. Heartbreakingly, Fossey was murdered at her camp in 1985, and her death remains a mystery to this day. But her legacy lives on through the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, the world’s largest organization dedicated entirely to gorilla conservation.

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