Don't Let Them Disappear

by Chelsea Clinton

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted comes a beautiful book about the animals who share our planet–and what we can do to help them survive.

Did you know that blue whales are the largest animals in the world? Or that sea otters wash their paws after every meal? The world is filled with millions of animal species, and all of them are unique and special. Many are on the path to extinction.

In this book, Chelsea Clinton introduces young readers to a selection of endangered animals, sharing what makes them special, and also what threatens them. Taking readers through the course of a day, Don’t Let Them Disappear talks about rhinos, tigers, whales, pandas and more, and provides helpful tips on what we all can do to help prevent these animals from disappearing from our world entirely.

With warm and engaging art by Gianna Marino, this book is the perfect read for animal-lovers and anyone who cares about our planet.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Nonfiction, Childrens, Nature, Science, Environment

40 pages, ebook

Published April 2, 2019

About the author

Chelsea Clinton has always been interested in making the world a better place. When she was a child in Little Rock, Arkansas, one of her favorite books was 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth, and as a teenager in Washington, D.C., she led her school’s service club. While at Stanford, Chelsea worked as a reading and writing tutor and volunteered at the Children’s Hospital. Today, she is Vice Chair of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation where she helps lead the work of the Foundation across its various initiatives, with a particular focus on work related to health, women and girls, creating service opportunities, and empowering the next generation of leaders. Chelsea holds a BA from Stanford University, an MPH from Columbia University, and an MPhil and doctorate degree in international relations from Oxford University. She lives in New York City with her husband, Marc, their daughter, Charlotte, their son, Aidan, and their dog Soren.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite thing in this whole book is the list of days to celebrate these animals, so get out your pen and write these on your calendars, since I am taking the time to type them all out!

February 27, International Polar Bear Day
March 16, National Panda Day
May 18, Endangered Species Day
Last Wednesday in May, World Otter Day
June 21, World Giraffe Day
July 14, Shark Awareness Day
July 21, International Tiger Day
August 19, World Lion Day
August 12, World Elephant Day
August 19, World Orangutan Day
September 22, World Rhino Day
September 24, World Gorilla Day

Why? Because you have to do something. And I mean something about it, with kids, even acknowledging compassion fatigue and despair.

We are in the midst of several terrifying events, one of which is The Sixth Great Extinction (as Elizabeth Kolbert, and others document), species dying off forever on an almost daily basis, and there are no marches on Washington about it. Well there are and will be more marches about climate change, which is one of the central precipitating causes, and this is a good and necessary thing.

So what else can we do? Hide our heads in the (burning) sands? The answer is not much as individuals, at this point. But if you are not a fatalist, you have to call attention to it, and one place to begin is with young people, and you get a famous name to get people to pick up the book. Chelsea Clinton! And it worked on me! This is an important strategy, as getting Leonard DeCaprio and others to get involved has shown. Use your fame to do good things.

This book highlights 12 of the best known (and thanks to picture books and zoos, beloved) animals that are in some cases highly endangered: Giraffes, gorillas, blue whales, rhinoceroses, giant pandas, whale sharks, polar bears, lions, sea otters, orangutans, tigers, elephants. And you have to start with kids somewhere, but there are of course tens of thousands of species on various endangered lists, thousands already extinct just in the last decade. And no, it is not a "natural" event that most of our biodiversity is disappearing, and not just an issue of preferring to save humans instead of other species.

Clinton has a paragraph on each, their current status, a page on why they are endangered, and a section on what we can do. The art from Gianna Marino is lively and colorful and intended for young children.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

True Rating: 3.5 stars

I was a bit disappointed about this children's book and I blame it on the hype on the reputation of the author. Chelsea Clinton, the Former 1st Daughter to Bill & Hillary Clinton, decided to tackle climate change and endangered species in a children's book. The illustration is marvelous and provided a ton of facts and information as to why these animals are important and how we as human beings need to protect them from poachers and other forms of animal cruelty by the hands of human beings.

Chelsea Clinton did her homework and provide a ton of information and resources as to how we can help but for the most part I found it to be bland. At times it felt as though it was a copy and paste job facts that I could have gotten from the internet, put illustrations in the book, and call it a day! I do not know if I was expecting more because it was Chelsea Clinton but as storytellers, our job is to showcase and bring awareness towards a particular topic with creativity. If I were a child reading it, I would have found it boring and too formulaic. The illustration is astounding and it is partly why I rated it 4 stars because it is not a terrible children's book but was definitely missing some pizzazz.

[Elizabeth☮ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice primer for young kids about animals that are increasingly endangered. This has a nice glossary in the back to explain terms like poaching and overfishing. There are also suggestions to be a better steward for all animals.

[Aligermaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it to your children, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews for a more responsible next generation.

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The text doesn’t add anything to existing books about endangered animals, but Marino’s illustrations are beautiful.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The text to this one is very nice: a single paragraph on each animal, crammed with facts, yet very readable, even aloud. There is also a listing of stats explaining where the animal lives, its endangered status, and the reason why the creature is facing possible extinction.

Though Gianna Marino's watercolors are lovely, they were a little cutesy for my taste . . . but if that's what it takes to get children interested in saving wildlife, I say make 'em look like My Little Ponies.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such pretty illustrations, and I learned stuff from this book! Did you know that a single giraffe kick can kill a lion? Or that giant pandas are pink when they are born? Or that a polar bear's skin is black? I didn't know any of that! So awesome.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems like a good balance of interesting facts and the need for conservation without being overwhelming for children.

[Celia Buell (semi hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had expected Don't Let Them Disappear to be a book about ways we can protect certain animals that are endangered. Instead, it is more of a book of facts on animals that happen to be endangered. That might not seem like a big distinction, but in terms of science content I feel like it is.

I struggle "so what?" question in the way that it relates to the title. I see that it's important to know what these kind of animals are and do, but there's not a lot that relates to the endangered status, aside from a sidebar on the other side of the two-page spreads that lists the animal's natural habitat, endangered status, and reason for said status. So maybe what I have the most issue with here is the title. I'm not able to make the connections between the animal facts and the reasons we should protect them and/or the environment, other than just that these animals are cool.

Despite this, there are definitely some things I enjoy about Don't Let Them Disappear. The art, for one, is gorgeous and really helps me appreciate the animals. I do appreciate the facts as well, especially coupled with the illustrations. Also, Chelsea Clinton uses the technical terms for groups of these animals, which are often words we've never heard before in that context, but that make sense. Clinton introduces these in a context that makes sense by using them in the paragraphs without having to introduce them. I think this would work great for older students who are learning the ways we can play with language.

In a science content lesson, I would probably use Don't Let Them Disappear alongside other books. second or third grade students could use it to choose endangered animals to research based on what seems interesting in terms of the few animal facts provided. Older students could use it as a jumping point to talk about ideas such as habitat loss and endangered animals in general. It would be a good book to read as a class before doing research on related topics.

As an aside, I'm not sure if I would get backlash for using a book by the politically active daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton. I feel like this could cause some problems in my future classroom from upset parents who could claim I'm trying to "politicize" their children. I'd need to figure out how to deal with that backlash if it does arise.

Read my full review on my Goodreads account for children's books.

[Mala Ashok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chelsea Clinton has written a wonderful book beautifully illustrated by Gianna Marino.Together the duo has shown how 12 endangered species across the Globe are in danger of disappearing and what we can do to to prevent that. The book starts with a key to what constitutes various levels of danger and goes on to talk of some wild animals which are fast disappearing.The book ends with a plea to make a pledge "that we won't let any of these species disappear." Clinton explains why these animals are endangered and what we can do to prevent it. All in all a book that a child will cherish and is educational too.

[Pam Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some features of this book that made it unique: Each page offered an area that gave the range of where the animal lives, its endangered status, and why the status is at that level. There is a "key" at the beginning that shares the level of endangered status and what those mean. The back pages have a list of days that are dedicated to specific animals. While I enjoyed the illustrations I felt they took away from the seriousness of the idea of these animals disappearing with the smiling animals (and that takes away from the non-fiction aspect of the book). Children will enjoy the illustrations though and I like the portrayals in each animal's habitat.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at 12 different animals from around the world. Clinton gives readers a bit of information about each animal, its habitat, and why it is endangered. An excellent book for introducing young readers in elementary school to this increasing problem. Back matter includes suggestions all kids can do to help.

[Bkrieth · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the illustrations are adorable, they don't entirely fit with the gravity of this book's theme. That being said, the information included in the text and back matter is well curated with both interesting and important facts. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of the collective names for each animal, and was struck by the listing of endangered status from nearly vulnerable to extinct.

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to pair with Lesser Spotted Animals. This one is more story and persuasion than facts. I think kids will like having more factual animal information as well.

[Alex Onslow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Age: k-5

Adorable little book but pretty sad about how all these animals are going extinct. It's a book on animals on the nedangered species list that gives an explnaiton on the range they travel, endangered status and why they're becoming endangered. Students can learn a lot!

Focus: extinction, animals

[KC · Rating 3 out of 5]

How some animals are closer to being wiped out completely and why and what can we do about it.

[Magpie_Morty · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad and meaningful. Hopefully the future generations will help to save our endangered species.

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations are lovely and text does allow access for struggling readers to easy research.

[Celia Buell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had expected Don't Let Them Disappear to be a book about ways we can protect certain animals that are endangered. Instead, it is more of a book of facts on animals that happen to be endangered. That might not seem like a big distinction, but in terms of science content I feel like it is.

Giraffes rise before the sun to use their long necks and tongues to find food. Blue whales can never be fully asleep. Whale sharks never sleep, period. Okay, you might say, these are cool, but so what? What do these facts have to do with the phrase "Don't let them disappear!"?

That's where I struggle with this book, the "so what?" question in the way that it relates to the title. I see that it's important to know what these kind of animals are and do, but there's not a lot that relates to the endangered status, aside from a sidebar on the other side of the two-page spreads that lists the animal's natural habitat, endangered status, and reason for said status. So maybe what I have the most issue with here is the title. I'm not able to make the connections between the animal facts and the reasons we should protect them and/or the environment, other than just that these animals are cool.

Despite this, there are definitely some things I enjoy about Don't Let Them Disappear. The art, for one, is gorgeous and really helps me appreciate the animals. I do appreciate the facts as well, especially coupled with the illustrations. Also, Chelsea Clinton uses the technical terms for groups of these animals, which are often words we've never heard before in that context, but that make sense. Clinton introduces these in a context that makes sense by using them in the paragraphs without having to introduce them. I think this would work great for older students who are learning the ways we can play with language. Students may think that a "tower" of giraffes, for instance, makes sense, because giraffes "tower" over everything else. A "congress" of orangutans may make less sense, but Clinton compares these animals to humans, which is a way that students could make the connection to a "congress" being a specific group of humans, or a group of animals. This language is more suitable for older students and students in the intermediate grades who know a lot about language than it is for primary students.

In a science content lesson, I would probably use Don't Let Them Disappear alongside other books. second or third grade students could use it to choose endangered animals to research based on what seems interesting in terms of the few animal facts provided. Older students could use it as a jumping point to talk about ideas such as habitat loss and endangered animals in general. It would be a good book to read as a class before doing research on related topics.

As an aside, I'm not sure if I would get backlash for using a book by the politically active daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton. I feel like this could cause some problems in my future classroom from upset parents who could claim I'm trying to "politicize" their children. I'd need to figure out how to deal with that backlash if it does arise.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't let them disappear
By Chelsea Clinton
Used in kindergarten to inspire kindergarten to make posters to help save animals. Gives individual statistics for each animal and what causes their decline.

[Amanda]

Aless picked this book up. Wasn’t until I was home that I realized a Clinton wrote it…. Never would have let him pick it up 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎 Clinton’s are pure evil

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a good children´s book. It is however perfectly suitable for grown ups. I love the illustrations, but the language is uninspired. No, thought what so ever is given to the reading ability of the younger audience it says it is targeting or children with reading disability. Children should be educated about the danger of climate threat, pollution etc. but what this book does however, is to add to a sense of powerlessness and guilt with the young reader. Kids rarely have the opportunity to decide what kind of powerplants we should build, or what our cars should run on. Parents do however, so perhaps this is yet another book by Clinton that says it is aiming at the kids, but still is out there for the parents to buy and create revenue for Clinton. Both in cash and cred. I´m very dissapointed in her editors who did not point this out to her. "Honey, no kid will read this. Please, would you look to your word choices as well." It looks like the text is copied from wikipedia or any already existing school book. ps. I`m definitly not a Republican. I do love the illustrations, but the text is ecually important in book I believe.

[Amanda up North · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly an introduction for young children, but an important book for all ages on endangered species and taking action to protect them. Well balanced delivery of short, engaging information on 12 popular species, followed by why they are endangered and what you and I can do.
As the back cover reads: "We can work together to change the future."
My favorite thing was that Clinton includes the name for each group of animal: a tower of giraffes, a troop of gorillas, pods of blue whales, a crash of rhinos, an embarrassment of pandas, shivers of whale sharks, celebrations of polar bears, a pride of lions, a romp of sea otters, a congress of orangutans, a streak of tigers, and a herd of elephants.
I wasn't crazy about some of the illustrations the first time through, some animals look a little strange (giraffes, lions, tigers) or a little too baby-ish. Altogether though, they are colorful and bright. The book offers hope - a sense of rising to action rather than gloom and doom. I like the approach.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This realistically and adorably illustrated picture book introduces us to twelve endangered species from around the world and urges us to not let them disappear.

From giraffes in South Africa to polar bears in the Arctic, animals across the globe are becoming more and more scarce, posing the threat that these animals might become extinct if we don't act and change things soon.

This nonfiction picture book has a map of the world with convenient animal shapes on the continents they come from and a key that shows us the risk of extinction at the beginning of the book. Each animal spread shares the range of location and endangered status as well as why they are endangered. The pages in the back go into more detail about the reasons why these animals are endangered. There are also some ideas for 'what you can do' to help and a list of International holidays dedicated to these Endangered species!

This review and others like it can be found on my book blog: Lazy Day Literature.

[Corri Moran]

This beautifully crafted picture book provides both critical and interesting information and facts about twelve animals. The children's picture book describes twelve endangered animals, why they are special and why they are disappearing. It also provides information on how we can prevent them from becoming extinct, their endangered status, and where they can be found.

I am so excited to read and share this story with both kids and adults. It has great, 2-page-spread pictures for each animal, follows a format for each page, and is written in a way that readers can choose one, or all, animals to read about.

This book can be connected to any nonfiction book about endangered animals, pollution, global warming, clearing land, hunting and poaching. One specific book is Who Am I?

This can be used as a mentor text in writing informational texts. It uses headings and other ways to provide information in an organized way for each animal, along with the question and answer format at the end.

[Sara]

Please use this book to get young minds thinking about endangerment of species. I was surprised (and ashamed at not knowing) at how soon a number of species may be extinct in the next 20, even 10 years. Sea otters, for example, may be gone in 20 years. But it shouldn't be surprising, given the state of our environment. Chelsea Clinton highlights several animals, with a paragraph on what makes each one so wonderful, but also which elements put them at risk (i.e. climate change, poaching, habitat destruction, etc.) At the end of each selection, she ends with the message: "Don't let them disappear!" The final pages of the book give a bit more info about the risks, along with ideas on how you can help. I love that she wants to instill these thoughts in kids, that it's not too early for them to think of being global citizens.

[SaraKat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the art, but thought the animals looked to happy and cheerful and cute for their situation. The text is saying "It's serious." but the pictures are saying "We're cute!" The little articles on each animal are brief and include some good information, but the pictures seem like they are courting a younger reader than the text is written for. The "What You Can Do" section at the end has tasks that are small enough for a child to accomplish.

I may be missing something, but on the page about Blue Whales it says:

They take in oxygen from water and air

Now this makes it sound like Blue whales can breathe in oxygen from water, like a fish. That is misleading and irritated me quite a bit and kept me wondering what else in the book wasn't factual.

[Colleen Roussel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book of discovery for young readers. This informational picture book takes the reader through the day in the life of twelve animal species that are endangered across the globe and special details about each one’s uniqueness. The illustrations show each animal in their habit in a soft heart-warming way with beautiful color tones. The geographical range of each species is given, as well as endangered status, and the assumed reasons for the animal’s endangerment. At the end of the book are two wonderful pages that can open up discussions with children on ways we all can make a difference and work together to help save endangered animals and a list of the special days meant to celebrate these wonderful “inhabitants of Planet Earth”.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. Interesting facts about animals. Long. A little preachy.

[Justin Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of children's books, as I don't have any children of my own, nor have I been a child for a long time now. But I did enjoy this book and only really bought it, because I ordered it for Chelsea Clinton's book signing. (I missed the event, but she signed the book anyway!)

The book is very informative on several animals that are endanger of becoming extinct and is a good way for children to learn about them, some fun facts about them, and what we need to do to stop them from becoming extinct.

It's never too early to teach your children about endangered species and the effects of climate change and poaching!