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Puffins (Revised Edition)
Discusses the physical characteristics, behavior, and habitat of puffins, and describes the efforts to protect this threatened species.
- GenresNonfiction
48 pages, Library Binding
First published November 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 4, 2025
This is a review of the revised edition of 2009. I don't think there was ever a third edition, which is needed. This edition states that no species of puffins were endangered. Well, that's changed, sadly. Population decline has been so rapid that the Atlantic puffin is listed as vulnerable (that's the stage before becoming endangered) and the tufted puffin is generally considered endangered, despite the American government refusing to accept the bleedin' obvious.
There is also no mention of climate change, which may have been due to (again) politics. The American publishers didn't want to tick off any parent or school board who was a climate change denier. Climate change has raised the temperature of ocean waters, making food for puffins (and just about any other marine species) extremely hard to find.
Otherwise, this was a remarkable book about puffins for kids. It was written by someone who actually went out in the field and studied puffins for two summers. She included a partial bibliography, which was helpful to me, but sure to be ignored by most kids. The book also has a glossary, index, websites to check out (although the last site listed seems to be gone) and further books to check out.
The text was brief and simple to understand, but still full of facts. There was a nice explanation of true puffins verses puffin-like birds, and close relatives of puffins. I liked the explanation as to why puffins preen so much, and how they can survive drinking salt water. There were also steps we can take to ensure the survival of puffin colonies.
The text was generously illustrated with full color maps, diagrams, and lots of photos. My favorite photo was of puffin curiously checking out a puffin decoy in Maine.
There is also no mention of climate change, which may have been due to (again) politics. The American publishers didn't want to tick off any parent or school board who was a climate change denier. Climate change has raised the temperature of ocean waters, making food for puffins (and just about any other marine species) extremely hard to find.
Otherwise, this was a remarkable book about puffins for kids. It was written by someone who actually went out in the field and studied puffins for two summers. She included a partial bibliography, which was helpful to me, but sure to be ignored by most kids. The book also has a glossary, index, websites to check out (although the last site listed seems to be gone) and further books to check out.
The text was brief and simple to understand, but still full of facts. There was a nice explanation of true puffins verses puffin-like birds, and close relatives of puffins. I liked the explanation as to why puffins preen so much, and how they can survive drinking salt water. There were also steps we can take to ensure the survival of puffin colonies.
The text was generously illustrated with full color maps, diagrams, and lots of photos. My favorite photo was of puffin curiously checking out a puffin decoy in Maine.
December 30, 2018
Good overview and introduction.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews