Both educational and engagingly recounted, Catherine Thimmesh's Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild sparkles primarily and mostly because it is such a balanced and unexaggerated (unemotional) offering, in so far that the author has penned her chapters in a well researched and academically sound fashion, meticulously and with essential and careful attention to detail (but also never with too much scientific mumbo jumbo either) showing what "Camp Panda" is all about (and yes, I have found the use of panda costumes to limit human interactions between panda cubs and the scientists involved in "Camp Panda" both a bit humorous and also more importantly totally ingenious), but nevertheless also never shying away from pointing out that there have been both successes and failures and that indeed even the scientists involved had to learn the hard way that the less human interference there is with regard to caring for and monitoring the captive panda cubs before releasing them into the wild, the better are their chances of long-term survival (which is essential for panda conservation and protection efforts as even though the panda is considered a national treasure in China, it is still critically endangered and its bamboo forest habits are still under constant pressure and threat from human encroachment).
Now while I do appreciate the fact that in Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild Catherine Thimmesh mentions that there also are a few dissenting voices with regard to protecting pandas and saving them from possible and likely extinction, I for one do find both the viewpoint that pandas are not a good conservation species due to their supposed natural "fragility" and especially the attitude that humans and human problems such as homelessness, hunger and poverty somehow should outweigh and be of more significance and importance than protecting endangered animals rather naive and callous at best. For with regard to pandas being regarded as too fragile to protect and thus an evolutionary dead-end so to speak, well, pandas were thriving and surviving just fine until their habitats and their bamboo forests were decimated by human deforestation and fragmentation and sorry, the idea that humans are somehow more important and worthy than other animals is in my opinion simply and utterly vile and hugely nastily ignorant, especially considering that many if not most of the threats with regard to possible extinction that vulnerable animal species are currently facing are generally the direct result of our, of human behaviour and actions (although I do nevertheless still consider it a positive that Catherine Thimmesh has mentioned dissenting views in Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild, in particular because she always does clearly and succinctly and without extremism then present exactly why these dissenting opinions are basically unsound and rather problematic at best).
Combined with such supplemental treasures (read added bonuses) as a detailed and informative glossary as well as an excellent and expansive bibliography (that lists not only books but also relevant online resources), not to mention that the author also includes a list of suggestions on how one can help conservation efforts and become more environmentally conscious and friendly in one's day to day existence, I do very highly recommend Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild to both interested children and adults (children above the age of ten or so, as the text of Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild, while generally neither overly difficult nor too replete with scientific jargon is still rather dense and wordy with occasionally rather sophisticated vocabulary choices).