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(2)
4-6
Billy discovers that his long-absent dad has a job that's both dangerous and noble: tracking down poachers who are killing threatened wildlife. His father sets his sights on a rich hunter who wants to kill both a Montana grizzly and a Florida black panther. This pulse-pounding environmentalist adventure story features nuanced characters and enduring themes about family, the environment, and the ends justifying the means.
Reviewer: Betty Carter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2019
(4)
4-6
Lost Rainforest series.
Illustrated by
Emilia Dziubak.
Panther Mez discovers she is a "shadowwalker," gifted with hidden magic. Boa constrictor Auriel asks Mez to join other "eclipse-born" and prevent the evil Ant Queen's return. Mez befriends some fellow recruits but soon discovers Auriel's ulterior motives. While the plot drags, the story's engaging friendships, action, and suspense may garner fans for this new animal-fantasy series. Includes a Q&A about Schrefer's research in the Amazon.
(3)
4-6
Kiri lives with her conservationist father in the jungle in a future world where most wild animals are extinct. When Kiri finds a panther and her three cubs, she embarks on a dangerous preservation mission to save them from both the coastal villagers and "wallers" living in walled-off cities, who disagree on how to treat the remaining animals. Kiri is a strong, multifaceted protagonist, and the environmental message is deftly handled.
(4)
4-6
Ship of Lost Souls series.
The Lost Souls' mission is to protect Island X from the double threat of pirates and a panther. The problem is that ship captain Scarlet McCray is stuck in port with her prim-and-proper relatives, leaving it to Jem. This installment in the rather flat seafaring series explores issues such as conservation and slavery in the kid-friendly context of a swashbuckling adventure. Glos.
32 pp.
| Holiday
| September, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8234-1833-6$16.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Megan Lloyd.
Miss Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind of Davy Crockett fame meets and wrestles with Fireeyes the panther in this upbeat tall tale. The epic woman-versus-panther brawl gives way to a "great and glorious" friendship. Wonderful language ("swaggerous stretch"; "thunderferous racket") and dynamic, folksy acrylic paintings framed with birch branches combine to make this a fine choice for storytime.
40 pp.
| Simon/Beach Lane
| July, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4169-9780-1$16.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Lauren Stringer.
Two sisters, one dressed as a princess, the other as a panther, prepare for a backyard campout. "The princess was brave, and the panther tried to be" in the face of nocturnal animal sounds: "Too-whit-too-whoo...screechy hoo-hoo." Deep-hued, textured acrylics ably reflect the imaginative story's drama and its nighttime setting.
(2)
4-6
Two rapscallions plot to dig a pirate oil well on land inhabited by an endangered Florida panther. A couple of teenagers, a crafty codger, and a demanding science teacher get a whiff not only of the panther's scat but also of the men's vintage-Hiaasen swindle. Don't expect any environmental preaching in this page-turner (although a few science facts cleverly sneak in).
Reviewer: Betty Carter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2009
32 pp.
| Bearport
| August, 2007
|
LibraryISBN 978-1-59716-532-7$25.27
(3)
K-3
America's Animal Comebacks series.
Using glossy close-up photographs and accessible text, these books offer readers a clear chronicle of the animals' struggles and successes. Authors clearly outline the threats and what humans have done to help (after, in many cases, causing the problem). Readers studying conservation will gain valuable information. Statistics and facts about other endangered animals are appended. Reading list. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these America's Animal Comebacks titles: Black-Footed Ferrets, American Bison, Florida Panthers, Florida Manatees, Gray Wolves, Grizzly Bears, and Southern Sea Otters.
186 pp.
| Farrar/Kroupa
| March, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-0-374-33467-3$16.00
(1)
4-6
At the height of the Cold War, Rex's family moves to Ottawa, where he joins a neighborhood gang tracking down an escaped panther. The present-tense narrative is brilliant in its near stream-of-consciousness depiction of Rex's world. The meticulous plotting sets the enormity of world destruction against the equally cataclysmic concerns of childhood, all magnified through the protagonist's vivid imagination.
Reviewer: Vicky Smith
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2007
85 pp.
| McElderry
| April, 2001
|
TradeISBN 0-689-82976-0$$15.00
(4)
4-6
While camping with their families in England's West Country, Pati and Simon hear rumors about a panther living on the moors. Intrigued, the budding teenage naturalists decide to track it. Considerable scientific information is woven into the narrative, and though their pursuit is conveniently speedy and fruitful, these informed, capable kids' adventure will appeal to naturalists who like an energetic read.
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Wes Siegrist.
In unsentimental prose this book follows two one-year-old Florida panther kittens as they roam their territory and hunt on their own for the first time. The book's strengths are its immediacy and snapshot detailing of the sights and sounds of the habitat; less successful are the stiff watercolor illustrations. A double-foldout spread cataloging the plants, insects, and animals that share the cypress forest is appended.
32 pp.
| Candlewick
| November, 2000
|
TradeISBN 1-56402-623-X$$15.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Paul Morin.
In the Florida Everglades, a panther hunts for prey to bring back to her kittens. London's terse free verse and Morin's vivid paintings convey the tension and suspense of the panther's quest, as well as a compact overview of the flora and fauna of the Everglades. An informative endnote summarizes the Florida panther's life cycle and struggle with extinction.