Animals That Changed the World

Gr 4—8—Thomas takes a breezy, conversational look at more than 20 species—from microbes to codfish—that have impacted the Earth in extreme ways. Our practice of keeping herds of livestock has created methane gas and water demands that our planet cannot sustain. Humans may share the fate of the dinosaurs if we fail to avert the climate change brought on by some of our domestications. Animals profiled include the cat, dog, beaver, pigeon, and horse. Cross-references interweave the animals' stories, such as the fact that cats, eradicated as disguised witches during the Middle Ages, might have mitigated the effects of the Black Death. The busy format features narrow columns of text layered on color backgrounds alongside visually stimulating photographs, an occasional drawing, and "Fact Track" and "Speak of the Beast" sections, which explain the etymology of animal idioms such as "the straw that breaks the camel's back." A vignette on Darwin's contribution to the understanding of our interconnectedness is included as is a (not-to-scale) time line.—S. McClendon, Friends School of Atlanta, Decatur, GA