Earth Heroes: Champions of Wild Animals
Written by Bruce and Carol L. Malnor
Illustrated by Anisa Claire Hoveman
Aimed at the fifth grade reading level and up and a “Mom’s Choice Awards Honoring Excellence”, Earth Heroes: Champions of Wild Animals celebrates the lives of eight Earth Heroes who dedicated their efforts and energy to studying and protecting their favorite animals, and in so doing, made a lasting and significant impact on the world. Bison, birds, chimps, seals, wolves, and elephants all owe their survival to the people profiled in Earth Heroes: Champions of Wild Animals.
What I enjoyed most was that I felt like I was not only getting good, solid facts presented in a clear format, but I also got a personal look into their lives and how they came to protect their animal. It became more engaging for me and I just could not put the book down and had to read from start to finish.
My favorite section of the book is titled, “Become a Hero!” and it offers a list of things readers can do to learn more about wild animals, as well as games and websites that point wannabe animal conservationists to walk in the shoes of their favorite heroes. “Become a Hero!” is a great tool for schools and teachers to leverage to inspire more kindness, compassion, and respect for all animals.
The eight heroes young readers will learn about include: William Temple Hornaday, Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling, Rachel Carson, Roger Tory Peterson, Ronald “RD” Lawrence, Edward O. Wilson, Jane Goodall, and the Douglas-Hamilton Family. To complement the text, there are vivid black and white photos and dramatic illustrations, along with a list of fast facts and a timeline of events related to each hero profiled that readers can easily digest and comprehend and that teachers and librarians can readily use to demonstrate in the classroom. Supporting all of these fun facts about wild animals is a comprehensive index and bibliography for further reading.
The profiles detailed have been carefully researched and are sure to inspire the youth of today to model the heroes of yesterday in how they approach, handle, and respect animals. Earth Heroes: Champions of Wild Animals is a must have for the reading lists of fifth grade teachers and elementary to middle school librarians.
Other titles in the Earth Heroes series include: Earth Heroes: Champions of the Wilderness and Champions of the Ocean. For more information about the Earth Heroes series, please go to: www.Dawnpub.com
To expand learning beyond the printed book, feel free to download complementary educational resources at: www.Dawnpub.com/downloadable_activities_book/
Title: Earth Heroes: Champions of Wild Animals- Author: Bruce and Carol L. Malnor
- Illustrator: Anisa Claire Hoveman
- Publisher: Dawn Publications
- Reviewer: Annemarie O’Brien
- Paperback: 144 pages
- ISBN: 978-1-58469-123-5
- Genre: biography, science, animals
- Lexile Score: 990
