This is a very brief, attractive, oversize nonfiction book for older children that memorializes eight “endlings”—the last known survivors of their species. The diverse animals remembered were each known to humans—from Martha, the last passenger pigeon, who died in 1914 to Toughie, the last Rabbs’ fringe-limbed tree frog, who died in 2016. Most died in captivity. Habitat loss due to deforestation, pesticide use, pollution from industry or agriculture is the most common cause of species extinction. However, some animals have died out because humans introduced alien species to unique and sensitive habitats. Then, of course, there was overhunting.

Overall, the text is short on details and raises many questions. The vocabulary is relatively sophisticated, making the book suitable for kids 8 to 12. Included within are Aimee Van Drimmelen’s colourful portraits of the animals, which appear to be rendered in watercolour. Each profile provides the creature’s scientific name and begins with a rhyming quatrain. I honestly didn’t care for these snappy little rhymes, which seemed trite and even irreverent. I felt that, if anything, the poems trivialized the animals’ lives. Here’s the one about Toughie, the tree frog:

This handsome endling rests in peace.
Oh, fine amphibian!
Sweet Toughie has now hopped away
into oblivion.

Really? Why could the author not have composed something about the special qualities of the species to which the animal belonged? If anything, that would have underscored her message about the importance of the animals’ lives.

Kerbel ends with some sobering details and statistics. She lists thirteen creatures that may be extinct by 2050 and states that in less than a hundred years 50 percent of all species on Earth could be gone forever.

To her credit, she provides a list of seven practical things kids can do, from recycling and planting trees or habitat gardens to reading about the issues and talking about them with friends, classmates, and parents.

I think there’s value in brief books like this that don’t overload children with information, and to see individual named creatures does have power. I hate to quote him, but in this case Stalin’s observation, “One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic,” really does apply.

Thank you to Net Galley and Orca Books for providing me with a digital advance reader copy, which I compared with a final hardback copy. ( )