Anteater Adventure

August 1, 2019
Grades 3-5 Books in the True Tales of Rescue series (2 new titles), though based on actual animals, are fictionalized in terms of what happened to which animal, when, and where. The main narratives are written in first person from the animals' point of view, with human conversations reconstructed from memory. The books feature wild creatures unlikely to survive on their own, the caregivers' experiences in helping them, and how they prepared the animals for their return to the wild. In Anteater Adventure, an anteater in Belize begins by telling readers about Ella, his caregiver, and Gabi, the first anteater that she nursed back to health. Abi also tells his own story: he needed surgery for a broken leg; he recovered with Ella's help and returned to the rain forest. Many color photos appear throughout the books, though their quality in Anteater Adventure is uneven. The illustrations in Raccoon Rescue, however, are quite effective and more professional in terms of clarity, lighting, and framing. With appealing topics and attractive cover photos, these animal rescue books will find their audience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)