{"product_id":"the-tragic-tale-of-the-great-auk-hardcover","title":"The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJan Thornhill\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor hundreds of thousands of years, Great Auks thrived. And then they were gone ...\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGreat 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.)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3 \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eExplain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.4 \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDetermine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJan Thornhill\u003c\/b\u003e is an author, illustrator and designer who brings her fascination with the natural world to her books for children. They include \u003ci\u003eI Found a Dead Bird\u003c\/i\u003e (National Parenting Publications Gold Award, Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction, Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award); \u003ci\u003eThe Wildlife 123\u003c\/i\u003e (UNICEF-Ezra Jack Keats International Award for Excellence in Children's Book Illustration, Governor General's Award finalist); and \u003ci\u003eThe Wildlife ABC\u003c\/i\u003e (Governor General's Award finalist). Jan recently won the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People. She spends her spare time in the woods obsessively collecting and cataloging wild mushrooms and slime molds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 44\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 11 x 8.8 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 01, 2016\u003c\/div\u003e\n                \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAccelerated Reader:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n                \n                \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eQuiz Name:\u003c\/strong\u003e Tragic Tale of the Great Auk\u003c\/div\u003e\n                \n                \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eInterest Level:\u003c\/strong\u003e Middle Grades, 4-8\u003c\/div\u003e\n                \n                \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReading Level:\u003c\/strong\u003e 6.5\u003c\/div\u003e\n                \n                \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePoint Value:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1\u003c\/div\u003e\n                ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47399464861874,"sku":"9781554988655","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/7d1aad4e4d0f782c405eceae740996de.webp?v=1778072266","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/the-tragic-tale-of-the-great-auk-hardcover","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}