Almost Gone: The World’s Rarest Animals

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jenkins, Steve. 2006. ALMOST GONE: THE WORLD’S RAREST ANIMALS. Ill. by Steve Jenkins. New York, NY: HarperCollins Children’s Books. ISBN 978-0-06-053598-8

AWARD(S) and STARS

• School Library Journal Book Review Stars, 2006

PLOT SUMMARY
Are there any more crested shelduck in China? How about Miami blue butterflies in Florida? When was the last time someone saw a golden lion tamarin in the tropical forests of Brazil? Investigate animals that are near extinction and some that “gone forever” in Almost Gone: The World’s Rarest Animals. While discovering which animals are endangered, learn where to find these creatures and why their numbers are diminishing.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Stage 2 series book, Almost Gone: The World’s Rarest Animals, Steve Jenkins introduces rare and extinct animals in short informative paragraphs. He prefaces the animal pages with a statement about the difficulty in counting these animals and that the accuracy of the number of remaining creatures can be questioned. He also gives an example in an introduction of the interconnectivity of the ecosystem using the life of a chickadee. Three sections are included: animals that are “almost gone”, “gone forever” and “coming back.” A world map can be found at the back of the book showing where each animal’s natural habitat is located and their average sizes.

Jenkins, known for his unique creative style, captures the essence of each creature using colored, cut or torn paper collages to create each of the illustrations. The front cover dons an Amur leopard, but frustratingly, there isn’t an informational paragraph about this creature, yet it is located on the map. Although informative, a researcher would need to investigate further sources for in depth facts about each animal. 

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• School Library Journal (2006) – “This engaging title is informative as well as visually stunning.”
• Kirkus (2006) – “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.”
• The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (2006) – “Since there’s no connecting narrative, this is more like a series of thumbnail encyclopedia entries, and since there’s no rationale for inclusion of these particular species over other endangered, extinct, and reviving species, the selections seem somewhat random. Jenkins’ textured-paper composite figures retain their usual elegance, with color variations subtly suggesting the shimmer of scales or the shine of glistening skin.”

CONNECTIONS

• Research the animals in the book to see if there has been progress made in saving the animals close to extinction or research other animals that may be extinct or close to extinction and write a detailed informative paragraph similar to those that Steve Jenkins has written, then create a diorama of the animal in its natural habitat.
• Research zoos that have animals in captivity in order to protect them and increase their numbers. Then have the students write to that zoo to gain information about those animals and what the zoo is doing to help the animals.