Animal Heroes: True Rescue Stories
Grade 3–6—Nine stories, based on interviews with the grateful survivors, describe how brave animals rescued people in catastrophic circumstances. Each edgy retelling reveals details that only the participants could know, including sounds, smells, sights, and the knowledge that at any moment they could die, deepening the tension. Mixed in are Markle's broad and perfectly attuned insights about animal behavior. The text describes the loyalty of a small pooch watching over his elderly owner, licking his face to keep him awake during a night spent in Katrina's flood waters. It also demonstrates the mothering instincts of a western lowland gorilla that tenderly protected a toddler who had fallen into a zoo enclosure. Background information includes a page about the Mountain Locator Unit used in one rescue and descriptions of carbon dioxide poisoning and hypothermia. Many of the photographs were taken from photo archives and fluctuate from fuzzy to clear, yet as such bring even more reality into the mix. All of the tales end with satisfying afterwords that summarize the outcomes.—Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.