Why am I passionate about this?

I write picture books about nature to inspire curiosity and care for our planet. I have been writing about wildlife conservation and particularly endangered species since studying ecology, campaigning with Greenpeace, and working with the Natural History Museum in London. Now as a full-time author, I have an extraordinary opportunity to learn through experience and in conversation with scientists, teachers, and children about how best to tell this ever more urgent, evolving story. The statement "Ecology? Look it up! You’re involved" writ large in 1969 by the first Greenpeace campaigners on billboards around Vancouver, still says it all for me.  


I wrote

Red Alert! 15 Endangered Animals Fighting to Survive

By Catherine Barr,

Book cover of Red Alert! 15 Endangered Animals Fighting to Survive

What is my book about?

Writing this book introduced me to the plight of pangolins, the elegant beauty of lumpy nosed gharials, and the dazzling…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction

Catherine Barr Why did I love this book?

Michelle Nijhuis tells the history of conservation over the last three hundred years with compelling narrative and fascinating detail. She shines a new light on the context and stories of familiar as well as lesser-known, pioneering conservationists. I loved it and learnt so much.

Beloved Beasts explores different perspectives of an increasingly desperate human story. Cutting to the underlying narrative… "people are still killing too many animals and destroying too much habitat" Nijui urges that as our societies become ever more connected, perhaps there is hope that we humans can sort ourselves (and our planet…) out. Let’s hope so.

By Michelle Nijhuis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Beloved Beasts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the late nineteenth century, humans came at long last to a devastating realisation: their rapidly industrialising and globalising societies were driving scores of animal species to extinction. In Beloved Beasts, acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis traces the history of the movement to protect and conserve other forms of life. From early battles to save charismatic species such as the American bison and bald eagle to today's global effort to defend life on a larger scale, Nijhuis's "spirited and engaging" account documents "the changes of heart that changed history" (Dan Cryer, Boston Globe).

With "urgency, passion, and wit" (Michael Berry,…


Book cover of Watching Giants: The Secret Lives of Whales

Catherine Barr Why did I love this book?

Kelsey is a mother, a scientist, and a writer and her revelations of the lives of whales, are woven expertly between these critical roles. Watching Giants is an intimate story, immersing readers in a mysterious watery world. Kelsey dives deep, sharing knowledge and detailed observations of these vulnerable species. 

I read Watching Giants whilst researching my own picture books and her experiences have stayed with me. Her gentle words and scientific insights reveal new perspectives on the lives of these ever gentle giants.

By Elin Kelsey, Doc White (photographer), Francois Gohier (photographer)

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Watching Giants as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Personal, anecdotal, and highly engaging, "Watching Giants" opens a window on a world that seems quite like our own, yet is so different that understanding it pushes the very limits of our senses. Elin Kelsey's colorful first-person account, drawing from her rich, often humorous, everyday experiences as a mother, a woman, and a scientist, takes us to the incredibly productive waters of the Gulf of California and beyond, to oceans around the world. Kelsey brings us along as she talks to leading cetacean researchers and marine ecologists about their intriguing discoveries. We encounter humpback whales that build nets from bubbles,…


Book cover of Saving Sun Bears: One man's quest to save a species

Catherine Barr Why did I love this book?

I am inspired by Dr. Wong Siew Te’s dedication and commitment to the lives of this little-known bear species. Author Dr. Sarah Pye tells Dr. Wong's personal story, interwoven with her own seven year journey to learn about the sun bears in Borneo threatened by a cruel wildlife trade. 

Adult sun bears are hunted for illegal trade in their parts from gallbladders to their paws. Their abandoned young are snatched for the illegal pet trade and wherever he can, Dr. Wong rescues these tiny cubs from life confined to a cage. His unique sun bear conservation centre in Borneo sets out wherever possible, to reintroduce these bears back into protected wild spaces.

By Sarah R. Pye,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Saving Sun Bears as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A must-read book about endangered wildlife.

Hunters poach adult sun bears for body parts which are thought to have medicinal properties. Orphaned cubs are kept illegally as pets. Natural habitat is disappearing fast.

In this inspirational story, Malaysian ecologist Dr Wong Siew Te, or ‘papa bear’, tries to save the ‘forgotten bear’ from extinction. His quest takes him around the world, and in 2017 he is named a CNN Wildlife Hero - proving one person can make a difference.

Australian author Dr Sarah Pye takes readers on a journey of discovery, introducing individuals sun bears she meets: Natalie who learns…


Book cover of Against Extinction: The Story of Conservation

Catherine Barr Why did I love this book?

A conservation classic, Against Extinction is a comprehensive and absorbing story of conservation over the last hundred years. Bill Adams explores the history, context, and legacy of conservation. Often quoted as the ‘UK voice of conservation’ Bill Adams, Professor of Conservation and Development in the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge, is an authoritative writer on this critical global tale. 

Meeting Professor Adams in discussion for my own research has been both insightful and deeply interesting. His reflections on this evolving movement are poignant and for me, so helpful in framing and distilling the words of my picture book conservation stories.

By William Bill Adams,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Against Extinction as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Conservation in the 21st century needs to be different and this book is a good indicator of why' Bulletin of British Ecological Society. Against Extinction tells the history of wildlife conservation from its roots in the 19th century, through the foundation of the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire in London in 1903 to the huge and diverse international movement of the present day. It vividly portrays conservation's legacy of big game hunting, the battles for the establishment of national parks, the global importance of species conservation and debates over the sustainable use of and…


Book cover of Sea Turtles: A Complete Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation

Catherine Barr Why did I love this book?

This coffee table book is a glorious pictorial celebration. Since embarking on the steep learning curve of becoming an International Sea Turtle Campaigner for Greenpeace International many years ago, I have been in awe of these extraordinary, endangered creatures.

From ancient lineage to migrational journeys, in-depth biology, and inspirational advocators, American biologist James Spotila explores the journeys of these ‘seven swimmers’. His book is both a plea for their conservation and a detailed explanation of biology and behaviour. Turn its pages slowly, to capture the detail of their gentle ocean lives.   

By James R. Spotila,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sea Turtles as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For more than a hundred million years, sea turtles have been swimming in the world's oceans. These magnificent, long-lived creatures spend their lives in the water, coming ashore to lay their eggs. Upon hatching, the baby turtles leave the nest and enter a dangerous world of storms and predators. The females will return to the same beach to lay their own eggs when they reach maturity a decade later. Today, there are seven species of sea turtle: the grass-eating green turtle; the sea sponge-eating hawksbill; the olive ridley; the Kemp's ridley, which is the smallest species; the loggerhead; the flatback…


Explore my book 😀

Red Alert! 15 Endangered Animals Fighting to Survive

By Catherine Barr,

Book cover of Red Alert! 15 Endangered Animals Fighting to Survive

What is my book about?

Writing this book introduced me to the plight of pangolins, the elegant beauty of lumpy nosed gharials, and the dazzling colours of the peacock tarantula. With the generous help of Head of IUCN RedList Craig Hilton-Tailor, I narrowed 100,000 species on the Red List of threatened species down to just 15.

In school visits, the stories of this diverse group of endangered creatures have gripped the imagination of hundreds of school children. Researching the book has ignited my friendship with scientists and inspiring conservations around the world. I am grateful to Anne Wilson for her vibrant illustrations and pangolin drawing tutorials that have transfixed so many hushed school halls, with children’s pencils poised.

Book cover of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction
Book cover of Watching Giants: The Secret Lives of Whales
Book cover of Saving Sun Bears: One man's quest to save a species

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Book cover of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

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Ethan Chorin Author Of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

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Why am I passionate about this?

Author Story-lover Middle East expert Curious Iconoclast Optimist

Ethan's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Benghazi: A New History is a look back at the enigmatic 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, its long-tail causes, and devastating (and largely unexamined) consequences for US domestic politics and foreign policy. It contains information not found elsewhere, and is backed up by 40 pages of citations and interviews with more than 250 key protagonists, experts, and witnesses.

So far, the book is the main -- and only -- antidote to a slew of early partisan “Benghazi” polemics, and the first to put the attack in its longer term historical, political, and social context. If you…

By Ethan Chorin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On September 11, 2012, Al Qaeda proxies attacked and set fire to the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, killing a US Ambassador and three other Americans.  The attack launched one of the longest and most consequential 'scandals' in US history, only to disappear from public view once its political value was spent. 

Written in a highly engaging narrative style by one of a few Western experts on Libya, and decidely non-partisan, Benghazi!: A New History is the first to provide the full context for an event that divided, incited, and baffled most of America for more than three years, while silently reshaping…


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