Animals at Risk

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

Lydia Bailey’s elementary-level book looks at 18 endangered and four
extinct species. Each of the endangered species is presented in a
two-page spread. One page is taken up with the image of the animal; on
the other page, the image of the environment is shaded to pastel colors
and the text is overprinted. Olena Kassian’s illustrations are both
pretty and accurate representation of the animals. Children will
particularly like the image of the Komodo dragon.

The text is written in a conversational rather than a technical style,
although it could have used a little more technical detail. Questions
engage the reader. With a few exceptions, there is no indication of the
severity of the risk to the species (for example, it’s not clear
whether whooping cranes are more or less endangered than pythons).
Instead of the alphabetical organization, which adds nothing to the
book, Bailey could have organized the species geographically or by
severity of risk.

The depiction of the extinct species is effective. Most children
associate extinction with dinosaurs, or perhaps the dodo. Using the
Barbary lion, Carolina parakeet, great auk, and the quagga, which are
similar to living species, makes the threat of extinction much more
real. The world map showing the location of the species is helpful;
however different-colored numbers for extinct species would have made
them easier to spot. Animals at Risk is recommended for elementary
school and public libraries.