Book Description
for Saving the Tasmanian Devil by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
On a research trip to Tasmania and Australia, author Patent met scientists and others responding to a threat to Tasmanian Devils called Devil Facial Tumor Disease. The often fatal disease has had a significant impact on the population of Tasmanian Devils in the wild. The multifaceted response to save the Devils includes capturing and breeding healthy Devils with the hope of eventually reintroducing them into the wild, research into the disease itself, and the development of experimental treatments. There is also ample information here about these often misunderstood creatures, which are far more social, and less fierce, than typically believed. A font a bit larger than typical “Scientists in the Field” books makes this volume more accessible to a slightly younger audience than most others in the series. In addition to lively photographs, the enthusiastic narrative includes the author’s “What I Learned” summary at the end of each chapter, which makes key points memorable while also modeling this learning technique. (Ages 9–13)
CCBC Choices 2020. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2020. Used with permission.