Alien Invaders: Species That Threaten Our World

(Paperback)

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Description

Environmentalists and co-authors Drake and Love present the concepts of endangered species and biodiversity in this look at alien invaders and their impact. From the days of ailing ships and shipboard rats to the fungus that sparked the Irish potato famine to the deadly purple loosestrife strangling native wetlands, they examine extinctions and endangerments attributable to alien invaders. Learn where the invaders originated, how they travelled, where they settled, what they displaced, why the invaded natural system was vulnerable and what can be done

Reviews

Praise for Alien Invaders

"In a clear, informal text, illustrated with handsome color paintings, this intriguing science book discusses particular plants, animals, bacteria, and viruses that humans have, deliberately or accidentally, introduced to a new habitat." - Booklist

"The large, vibrant, colourful illustrations by veteran Toronto artist Mark Thurman do an excellent job of bringing the text to life. As well, there's a superb map of Earth, annotated with descriptions of how species travel....excellent reading for any young person looking for a unique perspective on environmental disasters, and contains lots of new information." - Quill & Quire

"The concluding chapters give further perspective on the impact of these species and what people are doing and can do to control them. The background on each double-page chapter is a full-bleed color painting that includes an illustration of the invader....the material is accessible and will be useful for young researchers." - School Library Journal

Author Bio

Jane Drake and Ann Love are sisters and coauthors who have shared a life-long interest in the environment and the wild- As kids, our parents led our family vacations into wild places - we spent more time looking for shorebirds in sewage lagoons than most Canadians would ever admit to. Their writing for children has always had a natural history/environmental-action focus. They are interested in making children more observant of the natural world. Together they are the authors of many award-winning books, including their most recent, Cool Woods- A Trip Around the World' s Boreal Forest, Snow Amazing- Cool Facts and Warm Tales, Trash Action- A Fresh Look at Garbage, and Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy. They have been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Red Cedar Award, the Norma Fleck Award for Nonfiction, the Hackmatack Award, and the Silver Birch Award. Ann Love is one of the founding members of Pollution Probe. Both are married, have three children, and live in the Toronto area. Mark Thurman is an artist, illustrator, author, and teacher who enjoys writing and illustrating picture books and conducting workshops for students and teachers. He has over thirty books to his credit. He was cocreator of the Mighty Mites, a scientific cartoon in Owl magazine. Mark Thurman lives and works in Toronto.