Endangered Species, Big Feelings, And More!

This beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of the last survivor of eight extinct species. Kerbel writes a poem for each animal, followed by a more in-depth look at their final days. There’s also an illustrated portrait of each animal. It’s a really lovely book, one of my daughter’s most-read books this year.

This gently lilting picture book is a great introduction to endangered animals for preschoolers and younger kids. It’s a bedtime picture book depicting endangered animals going to sleep. The illustrations in this one are also so lovely, depicting each animal’s habitat in soft, warm colors.

This more in-depth, interactive nonfiction has noise clips of each of the 14 endangered animals discussed. It also introduced the risk level classifications developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which really interested my daughter. Each page spread covers a different animal and includes vibrant illustrations, a map with their location, quick facts — including their risk status — more details, information about their animal voice, and a section about what people are doing to help the animal.

While the other books have covered many endangered or extinct animals, this picture book focuses specifically on the tiger. It follows Aasha the tiger, who spends her days playing in the forest with her family and animal friends. Then the forest is cut down, and Aasha can’t find any other animals. She goes on a quest to find the animals and is joined by an orangutan. It’s a simple but powerful read.