Almost Gone: The World's Rarest Animals

Thousands of animal species have vanished in the last two centuries, and many others, like the Amur leopard, are almost gone.Read and find out about the world's most fascinating endangered animals ... before they disappear!

On the cover:

Amur Leopard Siberia (Russia), China and Korea Fewer than 40 left

This solitary hunter is the rarest of the big cats. It lives in the dense forests of one small section of northeast Asia, where it hunts rabbits, badgers and deer. The Amur leopard is a good swimmer and climber, and often hides its kill in trees. It can weigh as much as one hundred fifty pounds and has a thick fur coat to help it survive in cold, snowy weather. Illegal hunting and habitat destruction have greatly endangered these leopards.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-This engaging title is informative as well as visually stunning. Jenkins captures the essence of his subjects with appropriately colored, cut-paper collage illustrations on stark white backgrounds. Each endangered animal is introduced in a single paragraph that typically contains a fact or two about its range, behavior, diet, and those conditions that threaten its welfare. The actual number remaining is poignantly noted. A middle section, "Gone Forever," memorializes animals no longer on Earth with an indication of when they were last seen. In a hopeful third section, Jenkins discusses the Indian crocodile, whooping crane, and Alpine ibex, three animals that are "coming back," due to the efforts to protect their habitats. All the animals included in this book are numbered and appropriately placed on a double-page world map. Those who have enjoyed Patricia Mullins' V for Vanishing (HarperCollins, 1997) or Alexandra Wright's Will We Miss Them? (Charlesbridge 1991) will definitely gravitate toward this offering. Report writers may need more extensive information but the beauty of this book justifies its inclusion on most library shelves.-Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Steve Jenkins received a Caldecott Honor for What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? He has written and illustrated Almost Gone and illustrated Bugs Are Insects and Wiggling Worms at Work in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.