Diego, the Gal�pagos Giant Tortoise: Saving a Species from Extinction

by Darcy Pattison, Amanda Zimmerman

Overview

Starred Kirkus Review: "This well-crafted success story of a species' salvation will encourage budding environmentalists."

"A worthwhile addition to Pattison's Another Extraordinary Animal series." Booklist

Can humans save a species from extinction? Yes! With patience, persistence, and a full dose of hope.

This is the heartbreaking tale of a Galápagos giant tortoise species that was almost extinct, the herculean task of conservation work by scientists and volunteers, and a heartwarming tale of hope for our planet.

In 1959, Ecuador established a national park to protect the Galápagos Islands. When they did a census, scientists found only 14 individual Española Island tortoises. The species was almost extinct.

Then, they found one more Española tortoise-in the San Diego Zoo!

They named him Diego and brought him back to the Galápagos for a breeding program.

Ecuador established one of the most successful breeding programs in scientific history. For sixty years, scientists and hundreds of volunteers have fought valiantly to save this amazing giant tortoise species. Would it be enough? Would they be able to save the species? Read the amazing story of Diego, the giant Galápagos tortoise.

This is the fifth book in a picture book series, Another Extraordinary Animal, which includes a bird, mammal, spider, amphibian, and reptile. Back matter for this book contains information about Diego, his species, the Galápagos Islands, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629441870
Publisher:	Mims House
Publication date:	06/14/2022
Series:	Another Extraordinary Animal , #5
Pages:	34
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.25(d)
Lexile:	860L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Children's book author and indie publisher Darcy Pattison writes award-winning fiction and non-fiction books for children. Her works have received starred PW, Kirkus, and BCCB reviews. Awards include the Irma Black Honor award, five NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books, two Eureka! Nonfiction Honor book, two Junior Library Guild selections, two NCTE Notable Children's Book in Language Arts, a 2021 Notable Social Studies Trade Books, and an Arkansiana Award. She's the 2007 recipient of the Arkansas Governor's Arts Award for Individual Artist for her work in children's literature.

Children's book illustrator AMANDA ZIMMERMAN has been an art director, science illustrator, and librarian. To feed her passion for nonfiction children's books, she visits natural history, and science museums, delving into the mysteries of dinosaurs, bugs, birds, animals, and those wily ancient humans. Her work is in scientific journals, a book on Arabian rock art, and the exhibit Focus on Nature XII at the New York State Museum.

Editorial Reviews

★ 2022-04-14
A species comes back from the brink of extinction with the help of human intervention in this beautifully painted nonfiction picture book.

Stretching from the late 1600s to the modern day, this book outlines the plight of the Española tortoise and its recovery. When pirates first visited Española Island, one of the Galápagos Islands, they found thousands of giant tortoises. Valued because they could be kept alive on very little food or water, the tortoises were captured as food sources for sailors on long journeys. Due to overhunting, the population dwindled to only three—and a clutch of eggs—counted by scientists in 1905. Diego hatched from those eggs and was later taken to the San Diego Zoo to live for 40 years. During that time, scientists realized the dire situation for the Española tortoises and started a breeding program. When it was discovered that Diego was an Española tortoise, he was brought to the breeding center to help repopulate the species. The program’s success—as Pattison writes, “Sometimes, humans get it right”—led to thousands of tortoises, including Diego, once again inhabiting Española Island. Pattison offers this dramatic story in accessible prose, using the appropriate scientific vocabulary in an understandable context. Each two-page spread offers a substantial amount of information but never overwhelms, and Zimmerman’s vibrant illustrations always illuminate the text. Pattison toggles between the greater story and Diego’s more personal involvement, giving readers a central character to follow. Important ideas and numbers are set apart in a larger font, making them good places for emergent readers to chime in. Zimmerman’s realistic paintings invite readers into the times and places described, animating the tortoises and their saga. Human features are less detailed than the tortoises, making it clear that the creatures are the heroes. Detailed endnotes provide more information about tortoises, stories about less successful species rescue attempts, notes on invasive species and the Galápagos Islands, and the names of conservation organizations readers can support.

This well-crafted success story of a species’ salvation will encourage budding environmentalists.

Kirkus Reviews

Starred Kirkus Review: "This well-crafted success story of a species' salvation will encourage budding environmentalists."

"A worthwhile addition to Pattison's Another Extraordinary Animal series." Booklist

From the Publisher