Let's Make a Difference
We Can Help Orangutans
- 2013 INDIES Finalist
- Finalist, Juvenile Nonfiction (Children's)
Little Malcolm, a baby orangutan, has the sort of face that children will love. In fact, after reading Let’s Make a Difference: We Can Help Orangutans by Gabriella Francine, they can even help Malcolm and other endangered orangutans like him.
With bright pictures and an easy-to-read font, Francine’s advocacy book covers ecosystem basics and simple concepts like why orangutans are endangered, who works to protect them, and how a regular kid can help, too. The author also details how monetary donations to organizations that help orangutans are likely to be used.
The first book in what the author plans as a Save Coins for Causes series, Let’s Make a Difference highlights charitable foundations that help kids develop a global sense of responsibility. For donations, kids can pick from ten organizations that “work to protect the orangutans and their home, the rain forest.” The author also suggests ways children can help for free, like encouraging their parents to use sustainable palm oil for cooking rather than oils that aren’t sustainable or have a negative impact on the environment.
Elementary school students doing research projects on rain forests or orangutans will find this book resourceful, thanks to bold page titles and themed questions. Francine’s book would also make great bedtime reading for younger children, who will adore the mix of real-life photographs and charming illustrations. Brilliantly colored photographs feature the daily life and habits of orangutans—adults and babies alike. Young children might enjoy seeing Malcolm tickled by his mother and fed by a volunteer with a baby’s bottle, as well as when he is nibbling on leaves and learning to swing on trees.
Young readers will appreciate the book’s sticky-note style “Fun Facts,” which offer insight into orangutan behavior, like the fact that smooching noises and puckered lips don’t mean that Malcolm wants a kiss—it means he wants to be left alone.
Reviewed by
Emily Asad
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
