Earth Day Alphabet Book: Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet

Earth Day's observation of the value of the creatures who share our planet is a good occasion to give a second look at David McLiman's 2007 Caldecott Honor book Gone Wild.

This arresting book is an artistic tour de force. "This alphabet is a return to picture writing," the author/illustrator says in his introduction, and, as promised, each letter of the alphabet artfully incorporates the head or body of an endangered animal, from Chinese Alligator to Grevy's Zebra. The letters are strikingly displayed in bold, black line upon stark white pages, and the physical characteristics of the animal are dynamically captured within the curves and lines of the upper case form of the letters. The silhouette of each animal is rendered in red at the margin of the page, along with a box which details the common and scientific name, class, habitat, range, threats to the animal's survival, and status (critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable to extinction).

Although this book is clearly not intended as a child's first alphabet book, the appeal of its sheer graphic beauty will serve to spark interest in the viability of these various animals, large and small. An appendix includes additional information about each endangered animal, a bibliography of further sources, and organizations and web sites devoted to their preservation.