Young readers will open this book because of the fearsome image of a familiar ice age predator, but they will continue reading because of the high quality of this NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for 2009. Readers discover fascinating facts about the ferocious sabertooth tiger, examine a timeline for its extinction, and find further information about the evolution of cats.
The book's rich graphics enable readers to use inquiry to determine qualitative characteristics of these animals. Because the adaptive radiation of modern cat species is a common content area in middle and high school life science, the examples in the book have application at higher grades as well. Readers also learn about other big cats that are endangered and steps that can be taken to protect these amazing creatures.