If Elephants Disappeared

by Lily Williams, Lily Williams (Illustrator)

Overview

What would happen if elephants disappeared? Trace the repercussions of a world without elephants in writer and illustrator Lily Williams' third picture book about loss and conservation.

The Congolese forest is home to many types of animals.
Some are strong.
Some are slippery.
Some are loud.
And some, like the elephant, are BIG.

The elephant has become synonymous with the image of African wildlife. They can grow over 10 feet tall and eat up to 300 pounds a day. While these giants are beloved figures in movies and zoos, they also play a large role in keeping the forest ecosystem healthy.

Unfortunately, poachers are hunting elephants rapidly to extinction for their ivory tusks, and that could be catastrophic to the world as we know it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250143204
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Series:	If Animals Disappeared
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	671,225
Product dimensions:	10.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD1020L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lily Williams grew up in Northern California. She received her BFA with high distinction from California College of the Arts. Lily seeks to inspire change, engage audiences, and educate people of all ages with her artwork. Her work can be seen in films, books, and on the web. This is Lily's third book for children, following If Sharks Disappeared and If Polar Bears Disappeared.

Editorial Reviews

09/06/2019

K-Gr 2-After examining apex predators in two earlier entries, Williams explores a keystone species in this book. The author demonstrates the significance of the African forest elephant in relation to its environment in the Congo Basin Forest. The simplest actions of the elephants impact their ecosystem dramatically; elephant dung has never seemed so important. The elephant's dung is essential for the forest's plant life, and the plant life is essential to the forest itself. Williams communicates the various roles of elephants and the resulting chain reaction from their loss in an additive structure that is both simple and effective while deftly including scientific terms. Vibrant illustrations and engaging infographics complement and balance the text; information is conveyed in an impactful way through a time line of elephants' history and a graph depicting their decline. Back matter includes a glossary, author's note, bibliography, and more to explore for budding researchers. VERDICT Readers will learn the important roles that elephants play in their ecosystem, while also becoming more aware of the need for the protection and conservation of one of the largest land mammals. A solid, resonating addition to Williams's series.-Jamie Jensen, Wayne Cox Elementary School, Roanoke, TX

School Library Journal

2019-07-14
The latest installment in Williams' series shows how elephants' survival affects the whole world.

African forest elephants are a "keystone species," defined here as one whose "actions—from walking, to eating, to pooping, to sleeping—shape their environment." The interaction between elephants and the complex ecosystem that makes up the tropical forest is explored, from how elephants shape their environment to how that environment would change without elephants, ending with how readers can help ensure they don't disappear. As elephants walk thousands of miles through the forest, eating hundreds of pounds of plants each day and spreading their dung throughout the area, the undigested seeds in their dung are moved around, diversifying the ecosystem. But "poachers are killing elephants faster than they can reproduce." If their dung disappeared, plant biodiversity would decrease, which would affect the animals and the forest soil—even the forest's ability to survive. Standing in for readers, two black children in jeans and T-shirts enter the forest with a black adult, appear throughout the story, and, at the end, draw a "save the elephants" poster. The structure of Williams' text keeps readers' interest in this fascinating subject piqued, and she does a fine job explaining the science in lay terms. The artwork uses a palette of deep greens and browns to illustrate how these changes would alter the world.

Uniquely thought-provoking and important. (Informational picture book. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews