The Very Inquisitive Rattuses

Louise and Thelma, The Little Rattuses, take a trip to the zoo. Poor Louise won't listen, and it's never safe to get too close to wild animals, but she's okay in the end - and learns some valuable lessons about safety and personal space.

On Planet Earth, we're now going through the sixth great extinction. Unlike all the others which came about through natural changes and catastrophes, this one has been caused by us.

Species are dying at a rate at least one hundred times faster than natural rates. Some clueless people are in denial about this, but they're deluding themselves. It's a fact that animals and plants are dying out at an alarming rate and we've caused it.

Louise and Thelma go through the zoo doing a backwards alphabet, just to be different, and they look at a precious handful of all the species that are endangered and threatened. They see plants and invertebrates, amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles, and these aren't always the usual cuddly, fluffy animals that you might see in your average children's book. Some are ugly, Some are dangerous. Some are annoying, but they're all a precious part of a complex system, and the loss of any of them can cause unexpected problems for the whole. Earth will be lessened for their passing, and so will we.

Louise and Thelma learn a lot, see many animals and plants, and do manage to have some fun along the way!