The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk

For hundreds of thousands of years Great Auks thrived in the icy seas of the North Atlantic, bobbing on the waves, diving for fish and struggling up onto rocky shores to mate and hatch their fluffy chicks. But by 1844, not a single one of these magnificent birds was alive.

In this stunningly illustrated non-fiction picture book, award-winning author and illustrator Jan Thornhill tells the tragic story of these birds that "weighed as much as a sack of potatoes and stood as tall as a preteen's waist." Their demise came about in part because of their anatomy. They could swim swiftly underwater, but their small wings meant they couldn't fly and their feet were so far back on their bodies, they couldn't walk very well. Still the birds managed to escape their predators much of the time ... until humans became seafarers.

Great Auks were pursued first by Vikings, then by Inuit, Beothuk and finally European hunters. Their numbers rapidly dwindled. They became collectors' items -- their skins were stuffed for museums, to be displayed along with their beautiful eggs. (There are some amazing stories about these stuffed auks -- one was stolen from a German museum during WWII by Russian soldiers; another was flown to Iceland and given a red-carpet welcome at the airport.)

Although undeniably tragic, the final demise of the Great Auk led to the birth of the conservation movement. Laws were eventually passed to prevent the killing of birds during the nesting season, and similar laws were later extended to other wildlife species.


Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Published: 10/11/2016
ISBN: 9781554988655
Pages: 44
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 11.00h x 8.80w x 0.60d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 01/01/0001
Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2016 pg. 212
Booklist 10/01/2016 pg. 41
School Library Journal 10/01/2016 pg. 133
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 11/01/2016
School Library Journal 12/01/2016 pg. 41

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 183707 / Tragic Tale of the Great Auk
Reading Level: 6.5 / Interest Level: Middle Grade / Point Value: 1