Gorilla Doctors - Saving Endangered Great Apes

Turner, P. (2004). Gorilla doctors. Saving endangered great apes. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

     Gorilla Doctors – Saving Endangered Great Apes is a wonderful informational book for intermediate students.  Turner has created an informational book that is divided into seven different sections to tell the theme of the book, which is about what doctors are doing to save the Mountain Gorilla’s of East Africa.  Throughout the book Turner also uses photos and diagrams to help give the reader information. A caption accompanies each picture and diagram to give additional information that is not found in the text.  For this reason this book would be considered a photo essay book.  The information given in the book tells the reader how the doctors help these gorillas and why they need the help.  This book is classified as a biological science informational book because it deals with living organisms, the gorillas. 

    This book would be a great book to include on a unit of endangered animals or wild animals in the intermediate elementary grades.  Children of all ages love books about animals, especially wild animals.  Several different activities could stem from reading this book.  One activity is to have the students create brochures on the Mountain Gorillas.  The brochures could include facts about the creatures and ways to help them.  This would require students to do research in other texts or online.   Another activity is to have the students write letters to persuade individuals to protect the mountain gorillas.  Big Question to ask:

• Farmers, poachers and other humans are coming into the forest and taking away the mountain gorillas home and resources.  What can be done to convince these individuals to stop?

    I decided on this book because I have always been a fan of apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans and gorillas) and reading books about them.  I am amazed by these animals and sad that many are endangered.  That is another reason for picking this book as I feel it is important to inform students about endangered animals and steps that can be taken to protect them.