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Top 50 Reasons to Care About Giant Pandas
Pandas are symbols of peace. Besides being well known for their black and white coats and cute, cuddly looks, pandas possess many other unique traits that make them special. Do your readers know their pupils are slit-shaped like a cat's to help them see better in the dark? Or that female pandas bark to say hello? These gentle giants have been symbols of peace in China for hundreds of years. Readers will learn fifty fun facts about pandas that make these magnificent creatures a species worth saving from extinction and how they can help.
* Reviews *
These books describe how animals such as rhinos, whose overall population (25,000 plus) seems healthy enough, are threatened by serious depletions to some subspecies. Not all of the 50 reasons for the animals' peril are necessarily compelling, but the format is an effective and efficient way to organize facts about them and the dangers they face. The books vary in tone, sometimes focusing on the threat to the animal (Tigers) and sometimes on its value and talents (Great Apes). The color photographs are of a high quality, although the layout is bland and sometimes seems unfinished, particularly when one of the 50 reasons is brief and leaves too much white space on the page. Also, numerous rescue and protection agencies are mentioned sporadically but there is no comprehensive list of them. Overall, though, this is a solid series, and students might be surprised to discover so many complex and varied reasons behind the struggle to save some of the planet's most at-risk creatures., School Library Journal April 2010
RL
Grades
5-6 IL
Grades
5-12+ GRL
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