Can We Save the Tiger? Paperback – Picture Book, September 9, 2014

This is a fantastic book that I highly recommend to anyone. It is especially good for children. It is written simply and tells the story of the human impact on wildlife. The illustrations are also beautifully done.

This is an amazing book! Vibrant, creating, love it!

Book for my classroom library. Students enjoy it.

You will be hard-pressed to find a more beautifully written, illustrated, and laid out children's book that CAN WE SAVE THE TIGER? Or a more important one.This book isn't about tigers. Those "big... beautiful...fierce" animals are just author Martin Jenkins' hook. His bigger aim is to shine a light on the plight of endangered species. Through age-appropriate case studies (including, yes, the tiger, but also the less well-known and hardly charismatic, yet still fascinating, partula snails and white-rumped vultures), Jenkins explains some of the main reasons species become endangered. Then he highlights buffalo as a success story, and New Zealand's flightless kakapus as an example of the difficulties conservationists can face despite their best intentions.In between those case studies are beautifully illustrated notes about many other endangered species - some famous, some obscure.Martin Jenkins does an excellent job explaining a subject clearly and simply, without stripping it of its complexity. Through both color and black-and-white sketches, illustrator Vicky White does a soul-stirring job of depicting each creature. Kudos to both of them.HOWEVER... the book never attempts to address the title question: can we save the tigers? While the beauty of prose and illustration stirs the reader to WANT to save the animals, the book falls short on potential solutions or actions that average folks can take. Yes, there is a list of the websites of conservation organizations at the end of the book, but I was expecting something more. Given the misleading mismatch between the title (and the back blurb) and the subject matter, I am giving this otherwise stellar book a four.

This is an awesome picture book for elementary age. I read it with a 5-year-old, but only because was was very, very interested in animals. I would say this is better suited to a little older age grouping. It took us about an hour to read in depth with her.It starts out covering a few animals that have disappeared, some I had never even heard of but were amazing. Marsupial wolf is definitely a new one to me. It does describe extinction versus endangered, seriously but without being too depressing for the kid set. We want to give them hope after all of saving some of these animals. This book, I think, does an admirable job of conveying the seriousness of the situation while still emphasizing that it is not completely hopeless for every animal, so long as people are aware and offer assistance.The illustrations were detailed and gorgeous, pen and ink. There were some resources in the back for further study as well. Again, this is very appropriate for up to probably middle school as new material, and simply a nice book to look at for right up into adulthood. I really enjoyed it, and so did my kids.

Beautiful book with a conservation message and stunning artwork. The question in the title is not answered; rather, it is used as a call-to-action. Topics discussed within the book include: extinction, endangered wildlife, human-wildlife conflict, invasive species, conservation success stories, and climate change. Species highlighted include the tiger, partula snail, vulture, American bison, and the fascinating kakapo. Jenkins shoves a lot of important information into the picture book format. And I LOVE the illustrations.

The beautiful illustrations drew me to this book, but it's the intelligent text that makes me want to recommend it to every teacher I know. Many children's books present environmental themes in black-and-white terms: selfish people destroy nature, and we could easily stop this if only people cared. But "Can We Save the Tiger?" has a particular audience in mind: a child who can think; a child who can engage complex moral questions; a child who will one day be an adult.The book focuses on reasons species become endangered, from habitat loss to chemicals to the introduction of non-native species. Each concept is clearly explained through a detailed case study of one species -- tigers, white-rumped vultures, partula snails -- with other examples mentioned more briefly. The author acknowledges the difficult choices humans face, sympathizing with, rather than vilifying, a subsistence farmer tempted to kill a nearby tiger. Yet at the same time, responsibility for reversing the trend is placed squarely in human hands. The book ends on an upbeat note, with a section on animals that have been brought back from the brink of extinction. Even here, though, the book refuses rose-colored glasses: one featured bird, the kakapo of New Zealand, is still struggling despite intense conservation efforts.The book has little to say about how the loss of a species affects the eco-system, appealing instead to children's intrinsic sense of wonder at the diversity of living creatures. And this is okay. The book does not attempt to teach everything there is to know on this subject. But with its wealth of information and ideas, its respect for its readers, and -- not least -- its engaging storytelling, "Can We Save the Tiger?" will both lay a solid foundation and whet children's appetites to learn more.

Beautiful book with a great message. Beautiful illustrations

Used with Y6 as inspiration for writing a balanced argument.

Perfect for key stage 2 children with beautiful illustrations.

A lovely book with hand drawn sketches but purchased for a tiger obsessed little boy so unfortunately not right for us at all, disappointed as was expecting a book about tigers and their fight for survival. Many pages aren't colour either so maybe aimed at conservation minded older children? Sharing this so others can buy without making my mistake!

I gave this book to my eight year old grandson for his birthday. He loved the book and was very thoughtful in his response to it.