Rewilding: Bringing Wildlife Back Where It Belongs

by David A. Steen, Chiara Fedele (Illustrations)

Rewilding means returning animals or plants to places where they used to live. In this book, David A. Steen introduces children to the scientists determined to turn back the hands of time to create a greener future. Read about rewilding projects, including:

• The wolves that returned to Yellowstone National Park and dramatically improved the ecosystem
• The beavers reintroduced to their old territories to build dams to stop them flooding
• The Galápagos giant tortoises who beat the odds to survive extinction and return to their island home

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Nature, Middle Grade, Picture Books, Childrens, Wildlife

80 pages, Hardcover

Published July 19, 2022

About the author

By day, I work for a state wildlife agency.

Reviews

[Suzanne Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a kid the non-fiction area of the kids’ section at the library was a fuzzy, unimportant place. Why read non-fiction when there were PILES of incredible fiction to get through?! Super thankful to have a kid who thinks the complete opposite and picks out piles of books about bears, bugs, transportation, and architecture. All this to say — he picked this book out and it has entertained us at bedtime for quite a few nights! Learned a lot and loved the illustrations.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

An overview of rewilding projects -- reintroducing animal species to places where they have disappeared, and why this is done, the challenges involved, why it sometimes fails. Includes wolves, birds, beavers, etc, in places such as remote islands and English streams. Interesting and welcoming illustrations.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated fascinating book about rewilding with lots of examples of past and current projects.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Textured, hard back covers are a thing of joy. My daughter and I are both sensory seekers when it comes to how things feel and Rewilding has a wonderful embossed cover in the most delightful palette.

The title - Rewilding - was one that interested me. I've recently read an excellent middle grade fiction book by Gill Lewis - Song of the River published by Barrington Stoke where the plot was based around the rewilding of beavers in an area. Although fiction, it had a fascinating insight into beavers and their habitats.

Rewilding by David A. Steen and Chiara Fedele published by Neon Squid would make an excellent follow on book to find out more about rewilding of plants and animals. Equally, nature and animal lovers will be thrilled to dig much deeper into how species are returning to places they used to live and changing the tide of extinction.

The book is totally fascinating. David clearly explains how animals have been displaced and their habitats and lives destroyed and threatened mainly by our human actions. He then explains what actions have been taking to attempt to save these species and what has been successful and what has failed. Some of the solutions to support rewilding of species has been ingenious. It's an incredibly informative book and one you won't want to put down. This is not the first Neon Squid title that has completely absorbed me! They're making a real name for themselves in the children's non fiction realm.

Each text section is clear and chunked in a way that is not overwhelming to the reader and the illustrations by Chiara very much support the flow of reading. Chiara's work is stunning and each spread is a treat for eyes. Images are realistic, gentle and atmospheric. It's a delight of a book and a brilliant read for children and adults from around 8/9 years+.



Kindly sent for review.

[Karen Meno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and informative, the author covers the reintroduction of various species into the wild as part of ongoing conservation efforts. Information about each species is spread over two pages, breaking the information down into easily digestible bits. Includes information about habitats, causes of near extinction and on conservation. Discusses the scientific methods behind the decisions made and the failures as well as the successes.

[A Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

My kids and I borrowed this book from our local library and I was especially interested in reading the sections about beavers, wolves, and sturgeon during the months when the full moon's name is associated with these animals. The beaver section talks about them being hunted to extinction in England and the sturgeon section focuses on the beluga sturgeon in Europe, while the wolf section talks about Yellowstone. I appreciate that the book talks about rewilding efforts worldwide including places like Tanzania and Australia. I also appreciate that the book includes arguments for rewilding and some of the criticisms too. Overall, I think this book would be perfect for specific children, who have a special interest in the topic, but this is a long book and I doubt would work well in a group setting. Perhaps the book could be used in a classroom setting if individual children or small groups were assigned, or picked, one of the rewilding projects from the book to research more thoroughly.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This informational book addresses rewilding (bringing back plants and animals to habitats from which they have disappeared). It discusses whether or not it is appropriate, what is involved, why it is being done, and more. Then it gives details from a wide variety of projects all over the world with watercolor pictures highlighting the plant/animal and their habitat.
This is an important book as we are struggling with climate change and its devastating effects on our planet. There is a "what can you do" section at the end as well as a glossary and index.
This book does not have a works cited or bibliography section. This is a *huge* concern. I would have given it a much higher rating if it did. I believe that the information is credible but there is no way to prove it without these things.

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful non-fiction book all about scientists and the ways they attempt to rewild certain areas. Rewilding is the act of restoring an animal population in a way that doesn't interfere negatively with wildlife already living there. However, such projects are met with resistance. Some of this is structural--scientists need grants and time to ensure to do these studies properly. Some of this is more personal--communities don't necessarily want to reintroduce rattlesnakes to a nearby field.

Steen makes the argument that it's important to recognize how these eco-systems are part of the eco-system that is earth, that people need to take into consideration more than just themselves. Spiders are scary, but they manage the insect population, for example.

Overall, an intriguing book filled with stunning illustrations and facts.

[Brooke - TheBrookeList · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rewilding offers a variety of simple explanations and case studies about conservation efforts to reintroduce wildlife that have been struggling due to changes in habitat or climate. Steen's explanations are clear and interesting, with illustrations that are quite stunning. While many climate change or environmental books have a pessimistic slant, Rewilding is one of perseverance and optimism. Steen acknowledges where losses have occurred, looks at reasons scientist have found for their loss, then shares hopeful and encouraging efforts to bring them back. And sometimes, it works! Sometimes it doesn't, but we keep trying. That's a future-forward theme for youth I think is worth encouraging.

Read as a nomination in the non-fiction book award category as a panelist for Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (Cybils Awards).

[Zahnii (Suzanne) Artis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did like this book… I did feel like something was missing but I’m not sure what… maybe better transitions or organization. Not sure

Did learn about rewilding and that there are varying results. Some rewildings also help communities like the beavers helping to decrease local flooding. I thought the spread called Rattlesnake Island was interesting because there are “charismatic creatures” as they call them and then others that people don’t want. I would also like to explore overfishing more. As a pescatarian, I think that I have made some assumptions that it’s better and sort of immune from the kind of impacts that meat production has but I need to work on ensuring that my diet is sustainable for sea life. Last thought…I was intrigued by the ways that humans are training animals to reenter the wild. Very interesting

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too text heavy for reading aloud, but definitely one of those books that kids pick off the shelf now and again to peruse. Gorgeous illustrations. Mostly the focus is on individual species reintroductions, with a few pages on general topics like ecology, threats, and monitoring. There is one page on plants in general, which focuses on their uses to animals and people, and one page on reintroduction of sundews. I do wish there were more focus on plant conservation that is on par with animal conservation, but at least they are included!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the natural world and how humans can impact it both positively and negatively. The illustrations are amazing, and the writing style is accessible for young readers, while still being full of facts and actionable steps for kids to be part of conservation efforts in their own communities. While not chapter-formatted, I’d recommend primarily for readers in grades 4-6.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kiddo read as part of Summer Reading; this one is on the Governor's Summer Reading Challenge (this year's theme is about recycling, taking care of the Earth, and protecting wildlife. She liked it.

I read it as well. It's well-written and intended for children- to help them understand complex issues. Lovely illustrations

[Macie Broussard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Childrens book introducing our next generation of wildlife ecologists and biologists to different wildlife success stories. I spent so much time flipping through the pages of this book just looking at the illustrations!

Rent this from your local library or buy it for a kid in your life!

[Tara Thieleke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful tales of the gargantuan efforts and challenges of bringing back endangered species and restoring ecosystems worldwide. Educational and entertaining for children and adults alike.

[Madelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative with beautiful illustrations.

[Kelsey McIlroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative children's book! Love it!

[S46354595 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love learning things.

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the many jobs that need to be done in a public library is taking books off the new shelves, changing their records, and putting them into the stacks with the rest of the collection. Not too long ago, I was doing this task with the youth collection, and one of the books that was coming off new as it approached the end of its 6-months on the shelf was Rewilding. Of course, I had remembered the book. I didn’t process it to go on the shelf, but I had selected it for us to purchase. Some of our books about endangered and extinct animals had been getting more traction, so I thought it would be a good addition to help buff those topics, as well as conservation, in our juvenile nonfiction collection. I’d read some reviews of it, but I hadn’t actually looked at the book when it came in, except to see that it had made it on the shelf. Once I sat down to take it off new, though, I started to flip through it... Read the full review here