School Library Journal Starred Review (Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2006)

K-Gr 3 This engaging title is informative as well as visually stunning. Jenkins captures the essence of his subjects with appropriately colored, cut-paper collage illustrations on stark white backgrounds. Each endangered animal is introduced in a single paragraph that typically contains a fact or two about its range, behavior, diet, and those conditions that threaten its welfare. The actual number remaining is poignantly noted. A middle section, Gone Forever, memorializes animals no longer on Earth with an indication of when they were last seen. In a hopeful third section, Jenkins discusses the Indian crocodile, whooping crane, and Alpine ibex, three animals that are coming back, due to the efforts to protect their habitats. All the animals included in this book are numbered and appropriately placed on a double-page world map. Those who have enjoyed Patricia Mullins V for Vanishing (HarperCollins, 1997) or Alexandra Wrights Will We Miss Them? (Charlesbridge 1991) will definitely gravitate toward this offering. Report writers may need more extensive information but the beauty of this book justifies its inclusion on most library shelves. Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT

ALA Booklist (Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2005)

Caldecott Honor Book illustrator Jenkins applies his considerable talents to the cause of conservation in this book in the long-running Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series. Using his signature cut-and torn-paper collages, he shows 21 endangered species, accompanying each image with a few sentences about the animal's habitat, a particular characteristic, and, sometimes, the reason for its endangered status. The art is not to scale, but Jenkins often works in text references to give kids an idea of relative size: a Yangtze River Dolphin "may grow to be eight feet long"; an Assam rabbit weighs "four or five pounds." As usual, Jenkins' artwork is fascinating. His papers, apparently handpainted, are carefully matched to catch subtle variations of an animal's skin or a sense of the shagginess of its coat. The last spreads consider four extinct animals and three species brought back from the brink by breeding or protection programs. A map designating the range of each species concludes this nicely accomplished entry in a generally stellar series.

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

This broad view of the civil rights era opens with rhyming descriptions of life in the segregated South (in a familiar cumulative format). Subsequent spreads describe protests and boycotts; final verses reflect today's realities. The history is necessarily simplified, but for young children the book clearly connects the dots. Ransome's bold paintings are well composed; collage borders add emotion and historical context.

Kirkus Reviews

This new entry in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out series features some 20 animals that face extinction, along with a couple of handfuls that represent actually extinct species and some that are fighting back, illustrated with Jenkins's trademark textured collages. Each animal (with the very irritating exception of the leopard on the cover) is accompanied by a brief text block that locates it geographically and estimates the number remaining and provides a brief description of its basic characteristics and the circumstances of its peril. A distribution map at the end gives some sense of worldwide scope and standard adult measurements for each animal. Animals represented include Lonesome George (the last Abington Island Tortoise), the Coelacanth, the Northern Right Whale, the Moa (in the "Gone Forever" category) and the Whooping Crane ("Coming Back"). Although the breadth both geographically and zoologically is as complete as the 40-page picture-book format can allow, with the exception of an introduction, little attempt is made to contextualize the global dimensions of extinction and its effects on biodiversity—and why readers should be concerned. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)