Book Review: The Late, Great Endlings: Stories of the Last Survivors by Deborah Kerbel, Aimée van Drimmelen

The Late, Great Endlings: Stories of the Last Survivors by Deborah Kerbel and Aimée van Drimmelen pays homage to some of the more well-known endlings of the past century with rhyming stanzas that accompany watercolor illustrations and factual descriptions of each animal, along with the circumstances that led to their species' extinction. Together, these portraits of animals, like the passenger pigeon, the Pinta Island tortoise and the Tasmanian tiger, are a poignant symbol of a world irreversibly altered by human development, habitat loss and climate change. Readers are invited to reflect on the interconnectedness of all life forms on our planet with an additional look at animals that are at risk of becoming extinct in our lifetime. Concluding on a hopeful note, the final page offers suggestions for what kids can do to change the course of this mass species extinction crisis.

The Late, Great Endlings is a sad but interesting read about the last days of several endlings (the last member of a species). I liked learning the information shared, and I think the artwork does a good job of capturing the lives of the featured creatures. I also like that the book ended on a reasonably hopeful note. While reminding readers that we could very well see more species go extinct in our lifetimes, there are ways to mitigate our individual impacts and help make positive changes in the world around us to help slow or stop that decline. To be perfectly honest, the only part of this book I could have done without was the poetry. It seemed a little trite and unnecessary for the most part, and did little to add to the feel and purpose of the read.