*Gone Wild an Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans (2006) is a very special and unique alphabet book. An introduction informs readers that scientists have named almost 1.5 million species, yet so many more are not identified. When people take over wild spaces, creatures are in danger. “There are more than 5,000 animals facing extinction today.” Each letter is a unique design that represents an animal. Beside each letter are five pieces of information about the animal: class, habitat, range, threats, and status. For example, the Bushman Hare is of the class mammallia. Its habitat is Scrubland, range is South Africa, threats are habitat loss, hunting, wide cats and dogs, and its status is critically endangered. It corresponds to the letter H. For me to describe the design of the H would be inadequate; however, the top vertical lines of the H become ears and the horizontal that connects them has the nose. There’s also back matter for each of the animals. This is a stunning book that must have taken a lot time to research and design.
