George, Jean Craighead Galapagos George, illustrated by
Wendell Minor. PICTURE BOOK. Harper, 2014. $16. Content G.
By the time
Galapagos George was discovered on a lonely island, two other species of
tropical turtles had already been made extinct and George was the last of his
species - not a single other has ever been found. What this book really
made we realize is that our use of the word “extinct” is completely wrong.
Extinct needs to be a verb, not just a noun. Right now we use
“became extinct”, which is a passive use and allows us to deny responsibility.
What we as humans actually do is “extinct” the animals directly by our
behaviors. Kind of like “murder” or “extermination”. I am not sorry
for my rant - I loved that this short picture book made me think so deeply.
Don’t let political correctness keep this out of your library. Help
students to responsibility for the environmental consequences of irresponsible
human behavior.
EL - ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher
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