The Late, Great Endlings: Stories of the Last Survivors
by Deborah Kerbel (Author) Aimée Van Drimmelen (Illustrator)
The endlings: the last known survivors of a species.
Something that you may not know: in each and every case of a disappearing species, extinction had a face.
Over the past 500 years, thousands of species of plants and animals have become extinct. The Late, Great Endlings pays homage to some of the more well-known endlings of the past century with rhyming stanzas that accompany watercolor illustrations and factual descriptions of each animal, along with the circumstances that led to their species' extinction. Together, these portraits of animals, like the passenger pigeon, the Pinta Island tortoise and the Tasmanian tiger, are a poignant symbol of a world irreversibly altered by human development, habitat loss and climate change. Readers are invited to reflect on the interconnectedness of all life forms on our planet with an additional look at animals that are at risk of becoming extinct in our lifetime. Concluding on a hopeful note, the final page offers suggestions for what kids can do to change the course of this mass species extinction crisis.
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Gr 1-4--"Endlings" is a term coined by Dr. Robert Webster to describe the last of a species. Unfortunately, over the last 500 years, thousands of species have gone extinct. This lovely picture book documents a few of them. The text consists of rhyming couplets about the animal and then a short paragraph that goes into more detail about what made the animal special and how the entire species became extinct. Animals profiled include a Tasmanian tiger, a Polynesian tree snail, and a Carolina parakeet. There are beautiful watercolor images of each endling. The last page includes a list of suggested activities that would prevent animal extinction, such as dispensing with single-use straws and cups, and using bicycles instead of cars. This book would make a good introduction to the idea of extinction and how people have affected animals (and habitats) through hunting and environmental destruction. The complex vocabulary in the couplets may require additional explanations for some younger readers. VERDICT A short, beautifully illustrated text with high-level vocabulary; a solid addition to libraries needing more books discussing extinction and its cost.--Debbie Tanner
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JNF003270 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Animals | Endangered
Endangered species
Extinction (Biology)
