(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mike Orodán. In friendly direct-address text ("Dear little humans living on me: It's your E.F.F.!* *Earth Friend Forever"), Earth explains the ways plastics are damaging the planet and suggests how children can make a difference by choosing better alternatives and recycling. "Every time I see you refill a water bottle instead of buying a plastic one, it makes me spin with joy." This is an informative and accessible book, written by the hosts of the kids' science podcast Brains On! and illustrated with approachable digital art. Back matter includes details about how plastics are made and emerging solutions to the plastic problem.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Mike Orodán. With human development leading to urban sprawl, suburban expansion, and the building of multi-lane highways, wild animals have increasingly limited access to their natural habitats. In Cougar Crossing, the impact of urbanization is represented by a lone mountain lion, named P-22, who resides in Los Angeles. P-22, the "Hollywood cougar," was born in Santa Monica, in an area where all territory was occupied by other cougars; he has no choice but to find space in the city of Los Angeles, and constantly bumps up against human homes, zoos, highways, and diseases. P-22's situation is leveraged to advocate for the building of a cougar bridge, an accessible connector for trapped wild animals to access open spaces. Examples of successful animal bridges, as well as other innovative structures, can be found in Crossings, where Duffield showcases not only wildlife overpasses but also the many creative structures used to get animals safely "over, under, across, [and] through" human-made barriers. Squirrel gliders in Australia and titi monkeys in Costa Rica use rope bridges to cross above highways; spotted salamanders in Massachusetts and blue penguins in New Zealand tunnel under them. Both books employ bold illustrations of the featured animals in unnatural urban environments, using the animal crossings, and safely living in less populated environs. Duffield's book concludes with a spread of "Wildlife Crossings Around the World" and a brief bibliography; back matter in the Pincus includes a timeline of mountain lions in Los Angeles, cougar facts, information about wildlife crossings, identifications of "Wildlife of Southern California," and a bibliography. Review covers these titles: Crossings and Cougar Crossing.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021