Vanishing Treasures

A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures

By: Katherine Rundell

Narrated by: Lenny Henry, Katherine Rundell

A Most Anticipated Book from Boston Globe, Parade, & Literary Hub • From the award-winning author Katherine Rundell comes a “rare and magical book” (Bill Bryson) reckoning with the vanishing wonders of our natural world

The world is more astonishing, more miraculous, and more wonderful than our wildest imaginings. In this brilliant and passionately persuasive book, Katherine Rundell takes us on a globe-spanning tour of the world's most awe-inspiring animals currently facing extinction.

Consider the seahorse: couples mate for life and meet each morning for a dance, pirouetting and changing colors before going their separate ways, to dance again the next day. The American wood frog survives winter by allowing itself to freeze solid, its heartbeat slowing until it stops altogether. Come spring, the heart kick-starts itself spontaneously back to life. As for the lemur, it lives in matriarchal troops led by an alpha female (it’s not unusual for female ring-tailed lemurs to slap males across the face when they become aggressive). Whenever they are cold or frightened, they group together in what’s known as a lemur ball, paws and tails intertwined, to form a furry mass as big as a bicycle wheel.

But each of these extraordinary animals is endangered or holds a sub-species that is endangered. This urgent, inspiring book of essays dedicated to 23 unusual and underappreciated creatures is a clarion call insisting that we look at the world around us with new eyes—to see the magic of the animals we live among, their unknown histories and capabilities, and above all how lucky we are to tread the same ground as such vanishing treasures.

Full of inimitable wit and intellect, Vanishing Treasures is a chance to be awestruck and lovestruck, to reckon with the beauty of the world, its fragility, and its strangeness.

Sweet bestiary of memorable critters

I love that this book is equally interesting to adults and children. The affection the author has for each creature is palpable. Thank you for this sweet bestiary.

Amazing Book

This is a very interesting book. Each chapter covers a different animal and the stories are all very entertaining. I highly recommend it.

Important

Beautiful book, important, well read! Every school should require this book to be read by students.

Wonder

No lack of wonders here !! We will not starve for for want of wonders, but for want of wonders. Amazing !!

Loved this little gem!

I listened in one sitting and loved it. Funny but insightful, whimsical but heartbreaking. Don't miss it.