Monday, May 24, 2010

Friday was Endangered Species Day

Although I didn't post, I did celebrate Endangered Species Day on May 21st. I went into a kindergarten class and read my book.

Twenty-nine pairs of eyes stared at me for 45 minutes, thinking only of endangered species. Okay, so maybe the kindergartners didn't actually think about what I was talking about for that long, but I did, so that kind of counts.

What the kids will remember from my talk was how huge a Mekong giant cat fish is and how far a snow leopard can leap. Those two items, I am pretty sure, will stick with them for a while.


My heart goes out every day to the species suffering from over-hunting, loss of habitat, non-indigenous species competition, disease, and the inability to find a safe place for their young.


As I share with children repeatedly, every creature has a purpose and a job to do on this earth. When a species isn't around to do their job, a hole is created and everything around that hole eventually falls in. Not an easy message to pass on, but a necessary one. Children have inherited a rather messy planet.

3 comments:

Angelica R. Jackson said...

Saw your new look/template, and just wanted to say that in the banner where it says, "my first children's book to be published . . ." makes it sound like the book isn't out yet.

Loved seeing your artwork in person on Saturday, hope you had a good response.

RAD - Dot Painter said...

Good point! I have also been in the AW cooler tonight. I need some happy comments. I had a bum day. I'm glad you came this weekend, it meant a lot to me.

Tahereh said...

such an important post. thanks so much for sharing :D