GONE IS GONE

Photographs and examples from years of travel and wildlife observation support this introduction to current wildlife threats.

Humans are causing the sixth mass extinction in the animal world, but humans can also be part of the solution asserts Groc in her plea to restore nature’s balance. Opening with a depressing chapter of examples of disappearing species, she continues in a more positive vein, explaining how scientists study the issue. She points out possible remedies and concludes with a chapter offering ways readers can be involved. She explains important concepts—extinction, ecosystems, habitat, and climate change—and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. The bulk of her narrative consists of anecdotes from her own experiences around the world: in old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest; on the Laysan Islands in the Pacific; in Alaska, Namibia, and the Galápagos; and more. Interrupting the narrative are full-page sidebars with stories of specific encounters and organized measures taken to protect wildlife. Words defined in the backmatter glossary are set off typographically within the text. The author/illustrator makes her call for action even more personal by including photos of her own children interacting with the natural world. But she has so many stories. With wave after wave of examples, she almost drowns the message. Nancy Castaldo’s Back From the Brink (2018) covers the same territory more succinctly.

An overcrowded if heartfelt testament to a lifetime of concern for the natural world.