This well-crafted success story of a species’ salvation will encourage budding environmentalists.
A species comes back from the brink of extinction with the help of human intervention in this beautifully painted nonfiction picture book.
Stretching from the late 1600s to the modern day, this book outlines the plight of the Española tortoise and its recovery. When pirates first visited Española Island, one of the Galápagos Islands, they found thousands of giant tortoises. Valued because they could be kept alive on very little food or water, the tortoises were captured as food sources for sailors on long journeys. Due to overhunting, the population dwindled to only three—and a clutch of eggs—counted by scientists in 1905. Diego hatched from those eggs and was later taken to the San Diego Zoo to live for 40 years. During that time, scientists realized the dire situation for the Española tortoises and started a breeding program. When it was discovered that Diego was an Española tortoise, he was brought to the breeding center to help repopulate the species. The program’s success—as Pattison writes, “Sometimes, humans get it right”—led to thousands of tortoises, including Diego, once again inhabiting Española Island. Pattison offers this dramatic story in accessible prose, using the appropriate scientific vocabulary in an understandable context. Each two-page spread offers a substantial amount of information but never overwhelms, and Zimmerman’s vibrant illustrations always illuminate the text. Pattison toggles between the greater story and Diego’s more personal involvement, giving readers a central character to follow. Important ideas and numbers are set apart in a larger font, making them good places for emergent readers to chime in. Zimmerman’s realistic paintings invite readers into the times and places described, animating the tortoises and their saga. Human features are less detailed than those of the tortoises, making it clear that the creatures are the heroes. Detailed endnotes provide more information about tortoises, stories about less successful species rescue attempts, notes on invasive species and the Galápagos Islands, and the names of conservation organizations readers can support.
This well-crafted success story of a species’ salvation will encourage budding environmentalists.Pub Date: June 14, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-62944-187-0
Page Count: -
Publisher: Mims House
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.
A charming bird journey with the bestselling author.
In his introduction to Tan’s “nature journal,” David Allen Sibley, the acclaimed ornithologist, nails the spirit of this book: a “collection of delightfully quirky, thoughtful, and personal observations of birds in sketches and words.” For years, Tan has looked out on her California backyard “paradise”—oaks, periwinkle vines, birch, Japanese maple, fuchsia shrubs—observing more than 60 species of birds, and she fashions her findings into delightful and approachable journal excerpts, accompanied by her gorgeous color sketches. As the entries—“a record of my life”—move along, the author becomes more adept at identifying and capturing them with words and pencils. Her first entry is September 16, 2017: Shortly after putting up hummingbird feeders, one of the tiny, delicate creatures landed on her hand and fed. “We have a relationship,” she writes. “I am in love.” By August 2018, her backyard “has become a menagerie of fledglings…all learning to fly.” Day by day, she has continued to learn more about the birds, their activities, and how she should relate to them; she also admits mistakes when they occur. In December 2018, she was excited to observe a Townsend’s Warbler—“Omigod! It’s looking at me. Displeased expression.” Battling pesky squirrels, Tan deployed Hot Pepper Suet to keep them away, and she deterred crows by hanging a fake one upside down. The author also declared war on outdoor cats when she learned they kill more than 1 billion birds per year. In May 2019, she notes that she spends $250 per month on beetle larvae. In June 2019, she confesses “spending more hours a day staring at birds than writing. How can I not?” Her last entry, on December 15, 2022, celebrates when an eating bird pauses, “looks and acknowledges I am there.”
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780593536131
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.
The third volume in the Elephant Whisperer series.
In this follow-up to An Elephant in My Kitchen, Malby-Anthony continues her loving portrait of the Thula Thula wildlife reserve, which she co-founded in 1998 with her late husband, South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony, who published the first book in the series, The Elephant Whisperer, in 2009. Following his death in 2012, Malby-Anthony sought to honor his legacy by continuing his vision “to create a massive conservancy in Zululand, incorporating our land and other small farms and community land into one great big game park.” At the same time, the elephants gave her “a sense of purpose and direction.” In the Zulu language, thula means quiet, and though the author consistently seeks to provide that calm to her charges, peace and tranquility are not always easy to come by at Thula Thula. In this installment, Malby-Anthony discusses many of the challenges faced by her and her staff, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. These included an aggressive, 2-ton rhino named Thabo; the profound loss felt by all upon the death of their elephant matriarch, Frankie; difficulty obtaining permits and the related risk of having to relocate or cull some of their animals; the fear of looting and fire due to civil unrest in the region; and the ongoing and potentially deadly struggles with poachers. Throughout, the author also shares many warm, lighthearted moments, demonstrating the deep bond felt among the humans and animals at the reserve and the powerful effects of the kindness of strangers. “We are all working in unity for the greater good, for the betterment of Thula Thula and all our wildlife….We are humbled by the generosity and love, both from our guests and friends, and from strangers all around the world,” writes the author. “People’s open-hearted support kept us alive in the darkest times.”
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781250284259
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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