Bella, the Wildlife Ambassador - Hardcover

In Charles, the Crowded Cougar, an orphaned cougar living in Colorado faces danger every day from noisy bulldozers, mean male cougars, hunters, and scary road crossings. Wildlife Ambassador Bella befriends Charles, offers sage advice about humans, and helps the cougar out of a prickly situation. Along the way, Bella and her team learn the history of carnivores in the Americas and the reasons why cougars feel crowded. Bella's team addresses key conservation issues, including the ecological roles played by top predators as well as the current state of wildlife conservation and rehabilitation efforts.

The Bella, the Wildlife Ambassador Series is for families to enjoy together, discovering how we all can help protect wild animals. Older children will enjoy fascinating facts about wildlife and Bella's adventures. Parents/grandparents can read the book to younger children while learning cougar ecology from accompanying sidebars.

Kirkus Review praises the first book in the series "as an engaging environmental message from an endearing canine character" and adds, "Bella has an appealing personality; her protectiveness is touching, and as an "Ambassador," she's even polite to cats.

Reviews

"An engaging environmental message from an endearing canine character...Bella has an appealing personality; her protectiveness is touching, and as an "Ambassador," she's even polite to cats..Dolan presents her ecological message with an effective mix of facts and anthropomorphic storytelling. Oskner's softly shaded watercolor illustrations are lovely and capture the animals' distinctive charms." --Kirkus Review of Protecting Piping Plovers, the first book in the series.

"An utterly charming story about the tribulations of America's top predator, the cougar, as it tries to negotiate an ever-more crowded wildscape. Narrated by Bella, a Newfoundland wildlife ambassador, the story centers on Charlie, an orphaned, half-grown cougar. Throughout the book, Dolan intersperses insights and surprising research -- it turns out, for instance, that killing adult female cougars can create even more problems for humans as their orphaned, unskilled offspring desperately try to find food any way they can. Valuable to children and even adults (including some who write about wildlife themselves), 'Bella the Wildlife Ambassador: Charles, the Crowded Cougar, ' is an engaging introduction to predator conservation for young readers." --Eugene Linden, Author of numerous books, including The Parrot's Lament: And Other True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity

"Bella, the Wildlife Ambassador is a heart-warming reminder that pets and wildlife are on the same team; wild creatures, as much as those in our homes, need love and attention, too." --Peter Christie, Author of Unnatural Companions: Rethinking Our Love of Pets in an Age of Wildlife Extinction

"As more people move to Colorado, cougars and other wild creatures are crowded by human development. This book explains how we can all help wild animals." --Kim Langmaid, Walking Mountains Science Center

Age Range: 8 - 12 years

• Grade Level: 4 - 6
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 0.3 x 8.5 inches