Fact Friday: Vanishing: the World's Most Vulnerable Animals by Joel Sartore

Image: Author's Website

Vanishing: the World's Most Vulnerable Animals by Joel Sartore. 400 p. National Geographic, September, 2019. 9781426220596. (Review of purchased copy.)

Happy Friday! Fact Friday features Vanishing: the World's Most Vulnerable Animals by Joel Sartore. National Geographic photographers are among the best in the world, capturing stunning images of both humans and animals in all sorts of situations, from grave danger to unbridled joy. Vanishing is part of the Photo Ark series and focuses on animals that photographer Sartore feels will most likely disappear in the next ten years, as well as a few animals that are already extinct. This hefty coffe-table book weighs in at 400 pages and contains 375 full-color, often full-page photos. The thought that any of these animals might someday be gone forever is heartbreaking. 

Fact Friday: a few days late: The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk

Oops! I forgot to schedule this post and was a bit busy in Nashville on Friday. 

The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk by Jan Thornhill. 44 p. Groundwood Books, October, 2016. 9781554988645. (Review from purchased book.)

Fact Friday features The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk by Jan Thornhill. This never-too-old-for-picture books picture book is as beautifully written as it is illustrated. For hundreds of thousands of years, these birds thrived in the icy north Atlantic seas. They had relatively few predators and while clumsy and slow on land, they were swift and strong swimmers. Then humans took to the seas, found their nesting places and plundered them. By 1844, this magnificent bird was extinct. 

This is a short but compelling read. Readers may be surprised at the emotional reactions they are sure to feel while they learn about this poor species' extinction. Solid science is beautifully embedded in lovely prose. Readers will also linger over the absolutely stunning illustrations.