Published by Groundwood Books

Summary:  For thousands of years, the Great Auk lived in northern seas.  It evolved to live in the water, only coming ashore to mate and lay a single egg once a year.  On land, it was slow and clumsy, but it nested in rocky places that were difficult for predators to reach.  Humans coexisted with the Great Auk for centuries.  The birds and their eggs were hunted, but not to excess.  When Europeans started traveling to North America, though, everything changed.  Ships’ crews were delighted to find fat, slow birds in great numbers to replenish their dwindling supplies of food during a long journey.  Eventually, the birds started dying off until entire colonies disappeared.  Later, birds and eggs were hunted by collectors, who would kill and stuff the birds for their displays.  In 1844, the last pair was killed by Icelandic hunters hired by a Danish collector.  This sad story ends on a few positive notes.  Funk Island, once home to many Great Auks is now a preserve for sea birds.  The decomposing bodies of the many Auks that were killed there turned into soil that covered the rocks, making the island hospitable to puffins.  The final page invites readers to join the ordinary people from around the world who are working to conserve other species before they, like the Great Auk, disappear.  44 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  Informational writing at its best; the Great Auk’s story is engagingly told and beautifully illustrated, touching on all kinds of topics from evolution to adaptation to conservation.  Readers will be horrified by the wasteful hunting of the birds, and hopefully inspired to help prevent other species’ extinctions.

Cons:  There’s a lot of text for a read-aloud.

Published by Flying Eye

Summary:  Professor Astro Cat takes readers on a tour through the world of physics.  After announcing that physics holds the answers to many questions (“Why is the sky blue?” “How does a boat float?”), he covers many of the basics of physics, including gravity, sound, light, atoms, matter, energy, and more.  Each two-page spread of this oversize book has a dizzying array of graphics giving facts, answers to questions, and real-life examples.  This is a British import, so there are some British spellings and measurements.   A glossary-index is included at the end.  56 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  A very complete introduction to physics, explained in a kid-friendly but not condescending way, with eye-catching illustrations throughout.

Cons:  It will take a dedicated science fan or some adult support to get through all the content here.

Published by HMH Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Caitlin O’Connell, elephant scientist and science writer, expands her horizons here to many other zoo animals.  Touring Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at how zoo staff study animal behavior.  Readers will learn how panda mothers interact with their babies, how hierarchies work with various social animals like elephants and gorillas, and how zoo staff handle deadly poisonous snakes.  Much of what is learned about animals in captivity can be applied to helping species survive in the wild.  The last chapter describes ways humans have been able to help endangered animals such as Brazil’s lion tamarin.  Includes extensive bibliography, source notes, and index.  208 pages, grades 5-7.

Pros:  Animal lovers will learn a lot from this book, and come away with a new appreciation for zoos and the people who work there.  Excellent photographs illustrate almost every page.  Chapters could be read in isolation by those interested in a specific animal.

Cons:  At 208 pages, it will take a pretty dedicated young zoologist to get through the whole book.