Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet Book Review

"Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet", written by Davis McLimans, is a 2007 Caldecott Honor Book. "Gone Wild" is an informative picture book, appropriate for upper elementary school students and perhaps lower middle school.

For each letter of the alphabet, a different endangered animal is introduced. What I found entertaining about this book is how each letter is shaped or designed to reflect the animal it represents. For example, the letter “C” represents the Naked Characin fish and is illustrated in the form of a crescent.

"Gone Wild" is in fact a very informative book. Each page contains facts about endangered animals. These facts include the general name of the animal, the scientific name, the class, habitat, location or range, the threat(s) the animal currently faces, as well as the level of endangerment (critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable).

I truly enjoyed this book. Although the information is much too advanced for my two year son, he enjoyed looking at the illustrations and pointing out the letters he is familiar with. This book is different from any other alphabet book I have read or purchased due to the fact that it presents non-fiction, real life information along with the letter and picture. "Gone Wild" is an example of a top-notch children’s literature book for being both informative and enjoyable to read.