Gone Wild : An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans

The best word to describe this book is elegant. The author/illustrator has created letters that incorporate some part of each endangered animal that he has chosen to highlight. The only colors employed are black, white, and red. Upper and lower case letters are shown in addition to the animal letter and an outline picture of the animal. A text box on each page gives the animal's class, habitat, range, threats, and degree of endangerment. In the back, there is additional interesting information for each animal. This treatment is spare but effective. The book can be used with children of many ages to teach about endangered animals. When I was at Mendenhall, we used to do a unit on alphabet books which culminated in the students' creating their own book around an assigned theme. There are many possibilites for curriculum connection here.

I Love Our Earth, by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson

Photos by Dan Lipow.

This is a beautiful tribute to the beauty and bounty of our planet. While the text honors the landscapes and flora of earth, the brilliant color photographs include faces of diverse people from around the planet. This would be a lovely introduction to primary units on landforms or climate but would also be an apt choice for Earth Day.

Grades PreK-2