Book Review: ALMOST GONE: THE WORLD’S RAREST ANIMALS by Steve Jenkins

Bibliography

Jenkins, Steve. ALMOST GONE: THE WORLD’S RAREST ANIMALS. New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 2006. ISBN: 0060535989.

Plot Summary

Belonging to the Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science Series, ALMOST GONE: THE WORLD’S RAREST ANIMALS is a brief and colorful book about twenty-eight endangered or extinct animals from around the world. The facts presented are interesting, such as the coelacanth is considered a living fossil or the Abington Island tortoise is the rarest animal on earth with “Lonesome George” being the possible last tortoise living on earth. The short paragraph about each animal include a reason or theory about why the animals are endangered or extinct.

Critical Analysis

In ALMOST GONE, readers learn basic, yet interesting facts about rare and endangered animals like the giant stick insect, the world’s rarest insect, which is estimated to have fewer than ten left in nature. The Steve Jenkins’ illustrations of the animals are accurate and help provide details that the single paragraphs of text is not able to deliver fully. The organization is modest and flows from section to section, without the aid of a table of contents or index. The book’s Introduction briefly introduces the reader to the subject of the main section, endangered animals. The shorter final two sections are about extinct animals and endangered animals that are recovering. A map at the end of the book provides the locations of all the animals.

The colorful cut-paper collage illustrations are striking, especially the Abington Island tortoise and the Golden Lion tamarin. The layout of text and illustrations is appealing and easy to read. The style of the text is simple yet informative. Though maybe not the best choice for deep research, this book could lead the reader to further research the topic of endangered and extinct animals. ALMOST GONE helps open discussion for young readers about the earth they will inherit and the things they can do to help now.

Review Excerpt(s)

From School Library Journal

“This engaging title is informative as well as visually stunning.” Gloria Koster

From Booklist

“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.” Stephanie Zvirin

Book Connections

Read other books by Steve Jenkins:

THE ANIMAL BOOK: A COLLECTION OF THE FASTEST, FIERCEST, TOUGHEST, CLEVEREST, SHYEST—AND MOST SURPRISING—ANIMALS ON EARTH, ISBN 054755799X.

ACTUAL SIZE, ISBN 0547512910.

EYE TO EYE: HOW ANIMALS SEE THE WORLD, ISBN 0547959079.

Activities for ALMOST GONE: THE WORLD’S RAREST ANIMALS:

•  Have students mark the locations of the rare animals on a globe using the map in ALMOST GONE as a reference.
•   Research the habitats for each of the animals. Have students create a poster or use a Web 2.0 tool to create a presentation for each animal and habitat and present them to the group. Display the information for others to view.
•   Compare and contrast the causes of endangerment and the different habitats using graphic organizers.