Rewilding Giving nature a second chance

Gr 6 Up-What is "rewilding" and why should students know about it? Love expertly investigates this growing practice in an upbeat tone, providing readers with succinct discussions on key concepts such as cores, corridors, keystone species, and the importance of rewilding plants and animals. Several success stories are presented, such as transplanting trumpeter swans in Canada's Elk Island National Park, restoring grasslands in New Mexico with prairie dogs, and reintroducing wolves into Yellowstone National Park. Also discussed are attempts at raising animals in zoos for release, the pros and cons of bringing back animals from extinction with DNA, and living with animals that have adapted to living among people in cities. Tales of failed translocation attempts are also included. The layouts are slightly busy, often featuring several photos on one page, but the text is large and easily readable. The work ends with a positive outlook and proposes some questions for readers to ponder ("Does wilderness have to mean putting everything back exactly the way it was before people came along?). The helpful index pinpoints specific animals or geographic areas. VERDICT This is an excellent resource for those interested in nature.-Sandra Welzenbach, Villarreal Elementary School, San Antonio © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From reintroducing keystone species and making wildlife corridors to sharing city space and engineering de-extinction, people are working to rethink the relationship between humans and the natural world. This evenhanded introduction to the concept of rewilding is lavishly illustrated with stock photographs breaking up the text and adding appeal for middle-grade and middle school readers. Topics are covered each to a double-page spread, presenting first rationale and definitions (rewilding, cores, corridors, and keystone species) and then examples from around the world, both species- and place-specific. The authors, Canadian sisters with a long track record of successful books about the natural world, write with an immediacy that will appeal to nature-loving readers, who will learn about efforts to restore habitats and repopulate them with native species. They discuss animals from trumpeter swans and American eels to butterflies and jaguars. There are success stories: peregrine falcons, back from the brink of extinction, live on city skyscrapers alongside humans; some commercial cod fishing has returned to Newfoundland. There are problems: no one has yet discovered where eels spawn; there isn't enough room in a Netherlands wetland for the keystone species that would keep introduced herbivores in check. And there are interesting new wild spaces: the High Line in New York City; the demilitarized zone between the Koreas. Clearly organized and accessibly written, this is a welcome overview. (glossary, sources, further reading, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.