Bear Rescue: Changing the Future for Endangered Wildlife

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

Though these latest volumes in the Firefly Animal Rescue series are
heavily illustrated and the reading level is listed as Grade 5 and
older, they are really not children’s books. They are encyclopedic in
content and the authors consistently write in a dense, almost academic
style. The thematic sections in each book—“The Story So Far,”
“At Work,” and “On the Frontlines”—add to the uniformity of
the series, making each book an excellent research resource, but not an
entertaining read.

Unlike most endangered species books, the content focuses on
conservationists and conservation success stories. For example, in
Alligator and Crocodile Rescue, we learn about Rene Hedegaard, the
founder of Denmark’s Krokodille Zoo, which houses 19 species of the
reptiles. In Birds of Prey Rescue, we meet veterinarian Lindsay Oaks,
who works in Pakistan trying to get cattle medications banned that are
lethal to vultures.

Projects are also described at length. In Rainforest Bird Rescue,
protecting the habitat of the Abbott’s booby on Christmas Island is
detailed. Rhino Rescue includes a chronology of the destruction of all
rhinoceros populations and then describes the remarkable comeback of the
white rhinos in South Africa. Bear Rescue looks at a project in China
that gives alternate employment to farmers who keep bears for their
bile.

Overall, these are quality books, but at a higher reading level than
their appearance would indicate. Recommended.