Working on one thing at a time, for as long as you need to or feel like it, is a luxury.
This site is now in archives-only mode. Click here to read why.
Read Together: The Invasive Species Edition
This week’s Nonfiction November prompt is to pair a non-fiction book and a fiction book. I love doing this! I have two previous pairings under the Read Together heading- check them out.
For this week’s prompt, I am pairing two short ebooks that look at the eradication of animals. The non-fiction book Battle at the End of Eden is about the eradication of invasive species that are threatening native birds on some islands, and is ultimately a hopeful book despite being about so much death. I remember hearing about the efforts in New Zealand to eradicate rats from some of the smaller islands, to give the endangered native birds a sanctuary. They have been successful in some cases, but maintaining the sanctuary requires constant vigilence, because rats hitch rides on boats, and they are really good swimmers, as this story about an experiment run on Motuhoropapa Island shows.
The fiction book Pretty Bird is set in a dystopic future in which all animals have been killed by a plague of some sort- which makes it very strange when a bird appears on the protagonist’s doorstep. It is a creepy but strangely compelling story, full of twists and turns.
Both stories will make you think about the role of animals in an ecosystem. It is very hard to tell you more about why I’m pairing these two books without ruining Pretty Bird for you, but I think that if you read them together, you’ll see why I pair them, and will find yourself thinking about the fragile balance of an ecosystem, and how we don’t necessarily see how it is being destroyed until it is too late.
Post type:
Comments
Leslie (not verified)
Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:48
Permalink
Ooh I had never heard of
Ooh I had never heard of Pretty Bird! This sounds like a great combination. Thank you for sharing!
Anne (not verified)
Wed, 11/11/2015 - 05:38
Permalink
Nonfiction Pairs
I haven't heard of these books before but I would be fascinated by the book about eradicating rats. I love reading about stuff that ends up working. My Nonfiction Pairs
Katie @ Doing Dewey (not verified)
Thu, 11/12/2015 - 15:39
Permalink
Wow, both of these sound kind
Wow, both of these sound kind of creepy to me! I hate reading about bad things happening to animals, so I might pass on these ones.
Add new comment