Don’t Let Them Disappear – Perfect Picture Book Friday

Title: Don’t Let Them Disappear, 12 Endangered Species Across the Globe

Author: Chelsea Clinton

Illustrator: Gianna Marino

Publisher: Philomel Books, 2019

Ages: 4-8

Genre: nonfiction

Themes: endangered species, extinction, conservation

Opening: 

There are animals on every continent and in every ocean on earth. Tall ones and short ones. Massive ones and smaller ones. Animals with long necks and long legs, animals that are strong and not so strong. Every animal species is unique and important to life on Earth. Some are almost gone and could become extinct if we don’t act to save them now.

Synopsis:

In this book, Chelsea Clinton introduces young readers to a selection of endangered animals, sharing what makes them special, and also what threatens them. Taking readers through the course of a day, Don’t Let Them Disappear talks about rhinos, tigers, whales, pandas and more, and provides helpful tips on what we all can do to help prevent these animals from disappearing from our world entirely.

Why I like this book:

This is a good primer for young readers about endangered species, and the author offers a selection of 12 well-known animals to a selection of endangered animals, sharing what makes them special, and also what threatens them. Taking readers through the course of a day, Don’t Let Them Disappear talks about rhinos, polar bears, whales and more, and provides helpful tips on what we all can do to help prevent these animals from disappearing from our world entirely.

The book starts with a key to what constitutes various levels of danger and on each double-paged spread, one side contains the level of endangerment, habitat and why they are endangered, great details for a unit of study. The book ends with a plea to make a pledge “that we won’t let any of these species disappear,” mirroring the refrain, Don’t let them disappear! English teachers will appreciate the use of collective nouns throughout, a romp of sea otters, a troop of gorillas.

But what makes this picture book truly stand out for me is Marino’s art. I loved the choice to anthropomorphize all the animals and make them playful and fun–super accessible for young readers as they engage with a fairly wordy text and rich vocabulary (which I think is valid.)

Activities/Resources:

The back contains more information about some of the main threats to these species as well as a paragraph on what students can do. I enjoyed the addition of days to celebrate these animals.

• Some other books to include on a unit about endangered species could be:
  Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins
• Galapagos George by Jean Craighead George
• Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What do you see? By Bill Martin Jnr
• The Elephant by Jenni Desmond

Each week a group of bloggers reviews picture books we feel would make great educational reads. To help teachers, caregivers and parents, we have included resources and/or activities with each of our reviews. A complete list of the thousands of books we have reviewed can be found sorted alphabetically and by topics, here on Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.