The Bison and the Great Plains

Jean Free, a library consultant, was an elementary-school teacher and
librarian in Whitby, Ontario.

This book is part of the Animals and Their Ecosystems series, which
includes The Alligator and the Everglades, The Elephant and the Scrub
Forest, and The Lion and the Savannah. The author’s beautiful
photographs are from Dakota and Wyoming State Parks. The book covers the
bison’s prairie ecosystem, enemies, breeding, hunting, life cycle, and
so on. The interconnected community of plants and animals, the food
chain, predators on the prairie, and the enrichment of the ecosystem are
discussed in a highly readable style, with short paragraphs and boldface
headings. Taylor’s story follows a cow bison named Mandan, living on
the Canadian prairie, through her life, including the birth of her calf;
the society, survival, and habits of the North American bison unfold to
the reader. The Plains Indians’ historic hunting of bison and their
near-extinction make this book suitable for either a unit on Canadian
Indians or on endangered species.

The Bison and the Great Plains is a highly readable book for junior
students as well as an interesting book for casual browsing, with its
stunning photographs and its large-style, carefully planned format.
(This format would also be a useful guide to help students set an
organizational standard for their own research.) This book is an
excellent choice for school and public libraries, and for the personal
collections of young animal-lovers.