Can We Share the World with Tigers?

by Robert E. Wells, Robert E. Wells (Illustrator)

Overview

Bengal tigers are an endangered species due to many human-caused factors, such as poaching, habitat destruction, and global warming. In Robert Wells's signature style, this book explores these difficult topics in a child-friendly manner with endearing illustrations--and it gives kids ways they can help to save the tigers, too.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807510575
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	09/01/2012
Series:	Wells of Knowledge Science Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD920L (what's this?)
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Robert E. Wells is the author and illustrator of many award-winning science books for children, including Can You Count to a Googol? and Why Do Elephants Need the Sun?. He lives with his wife in Washington.

Editorial Reviews

"This title brings us into the world of diminishing animals and habitats around the world…this will be an extremely valuable addition to any collection."—Library Media Connection

"The pen-and-acrylic illustrations nicely convey the concepts using a mix of timelines, flowcharts and artwork."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Gr 2–3—This science book packs several ideas into a picture book for young children. What begins with a charming story of a Bengal tigress and her cubs and the dangers in their world quickly turns into a race through facts about the world, ecology, biodiversity, habitat destruction, species population, mass extinction, invasive species, eco-footprints, and alternative energy. It is all a bit overwhelming. The cartoon-style illustrations and fictional approach belie the seriousness of the topic, for instance, the tigress licking a monkey to say thank you for a warning of approaching danger. The text romps through history and jumps from spot to spot on Earth, making the material disconnected and confusing. On one spread children are reading about early hunters and gatherers and on the next they see the tigers looking at a large city with skyscrapers. A couple of pages later the tigers are in a boat on the ocean. The Bengal tigers will appeal to children, but they are likely to miss most of the information the author is trying to impart.—Erlene Bishop Killeen, Stoughton Area School District, WI

School Library Journal

Using threats to endangered Bengal tigers' survival as a springboard, Wells teaches young readers about the many ways humans interfere with the natural world and its biodiversity. Opening with a Bengal tigress and her cubs, Wells introduces into the mix a langur monkey that stops the tigress from walking into a poacher's trap. The anthropomorphized quartet (the tiger plants a big kiss on the monkey's cheek--yeah, right) then travel through the book together, teaching readers about habitat destruction, pollution, overharvesting, invasive species, biodiversity and extinction. Words are defined in the text, in a glossary or in glaring yellow "Learning Circle[s]" that also sometimes provide factoids, but while many of the glossary words are all in caps, there are other words that also appear this way that are not defined in the back. Also, while the more scientific terminology is defined, other vocabulary is not as audience-friendly: excessive, sensitive, vegetation, profit, livestock, disrupted, emit, incurable. Not as strong as its predecessors in the Wells of Knowledge Science series, this is not as well-written or -designed--the text is scattered across the spreads and often justified or otherwise confusingly spaced, making it difficult to follow. Too, there are a few pages that are vertically oriented. The pen-and-acrylic illustrations nicely convey the concepts using a mix of timelines, flowcharts and artwork, but the fact/fiction blend jars. A hot topic receives a tepid treatment. (Informational picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews