First Katherine Applegate thrilled readers with the action-packed Animorphs series. Then she stole our hearts with the award-winning The One and Only Ivan. Now she takes us on an unforgettable journey in this first book of an epic middle grade series! Byx is the youngest member of her dairne pack. Believed to possess remarkable abilities, her mythical doglike species has been hunted to near extinction in the war-torn kingdom of Nedarra. After her pack is hunted down and killed, Byx fears she may be the last of her species. The Endling. So Byx sets out to find safe haven, and to see if the legends of other hidden dairnes are true. Along the way, she meets new allies—both animals and humans alike—who each have their own motivations for joining her quest. And although they begin as strangers, they become their own kind of family—one that will ultimately uncover a secret that may threaten every creature in their world. Building upon the success of her critically acclaimed novels such as The One and Only Ivan, Crenshaw, and Wishtree, while also returning to her action-packed fantasy roots of Animorphs, the Endling series is Katherine Applegate at her finest. With its enthralling characters, unique setting, and gripping adventure, this series is the perfect next read for fans of Rick Riordan, Brian Jacques, and Tui T. Sutherland.

Amid the historical decimation of species around the globe, a new way into the language of loss An endling is the last known individual of a species; when that individual dies, the species becomes extinct. These “last individuals” are poignant characters in the stories that humans tell themselves about today’s Anthropocene. In this evocative work, Lydia Pyne explores how discussion about endlings—how we tell their histories—draws on deep traditions of storytelling across a variety of narrative types that go well beyond the science of these species’ biology or their evolutionary history. Endlings provides a useful and thoughtful discussion of species concepts: how species start and how (and why) they end, what it means to be a “charismatic” species, the effects of rewilding, and what makes species extinction different in this era. From Benjamin the thylacine to Celia the ibex to Lonesome George the Galápagos tortoise, endlings, Pyne shows, have the power to shape how we think about grief, mourning, and loss amid the world’s sixth mass extinction.

Endling #2: The First is the second book in an epic middle grade animal fantasy series by Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The One and Only Ivan, Wishtree, and Crenshaw! To learn if she truly is the last dairne in the world—the endling—Byx and her friends must travel into the snow-covered mountains of the country of Dreyland, where they hope to uncover the truth behind the legend of a hidden dairne colony. But the threat of war across the lands continues to grow with each passing day. As the group confronts untold dangers at every turn, they will ultimately uncover a treacherous plot that involves the other powerful governing species. With both her dreams and all the creatures of Nedarra on the brink of extinction, Byx and her friends are determined to never give up hope. Soon they find themselves the unlikely leaders in a simmering rebellion that risks everything they hold dear. Byx may be the last of her kind, but will she also be the first to lead the revolution? Beloved author Katherine Applegate concludes her “simply sublime” (Kirkus) epic middle grade animal fantasy trilogy with Endling #3: The Only. Read all three!

The thrilling conclusion to the epic middle grade fantasy trilogy from Katherine Applegate, the New York Times bestselling and Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan (now a major motion picture!), The One and Only Bob, Wishtree, and Crenshaw! In the beginning, Byx’s original quest was to discover if there were more of her kind, or if she was destined to become an endling—the last dairne alive. She did indeed find more dairnes, and along the way she also created allies among other creatures in her world, including humans, felivets, raptidons, and wobbyks. But Byx and her new friends soon learned that it wasn’t just dairnes in jeopardy of extinction, but that everyone was at risk. With the world in unprecedented danger, Byx must rally creatures of all kinds to lead a revolution. Katherine Applegate’s Endling series has so far earned a collective five starred reviews, and each of the prior books has debuted on the New York Times bestseller list. She once again delivers an action-packed middle grade fantasy with a unique setting, enthralling characters, and gripping adventure that is perfect for fans of Rick Riordan, Brian Jacques, and Tui T. Sutherland.

★“This beautiful dedication to these special animals brings the reality and the irreversible finality of extinction to the forefront and calls on readers to act now, before so many other animals become endlings. Highly recommended for all collections.”—Booklist, starred review The endlings: the last known survivors of a species. Something that you may not know: in each and every case of a disappearing species, extinction had a face. Over the past 500 years, thousands of species of plants and animals have become extinct. The Late, Great Endlings pays homage to some of the more well-known endlings of the past century with rhyming stanzas that accompany watercolor illustrations and factual descriptions of each animal, along with the circumstances that led to their species' extinction. Together, these portraits of animals, like the passenger pigeon, the Pinta Island tortoise and the Tasmanian tiger, are a poignant symbol of a world irreversibly altered by human development, habitat loss and climate change. Readers are invited to reflect on the interconnectedness of all life forms on our planet with an additional look at animals that are at risk of becoming extinct in our lifetime. Concluding on a hopeful note, the final page offers suggestions for what kids can do to change the course of this mass species extinction crisis.

Invasive species threaten local ecosystems and the planet’s biodiversity, but are they all as bad as we think they are? Plants, animals, insects and fish are moving in. In Nature Out of Balance:How Invasive Species Are Changing the Planet author Merrie-Ellen Wilcox profiles all-star invasive species around the world, starting in her own neighbourhood, and warns that humans are the most invasive species of all. We find out how and why species become invasive, what we can do to stop their spread and whether it’s time to think differently about invasive species that are here to stay.