A Perfect Time for Pandas: A Merlin Mission

light. “Thank you!”
    The wind began to blow.
    The tree house started to spin.
    It spun faster and faster.
    Then everything was still.
    Absolutely still.
    * * *
    “We’re back,” said Jack. He and Annie looked out the tree house window. Dappled light danced in the woods. As always, no time at all had passed in Frog Creek while they were gone.
    “Time for school,” said Annie.
    Jack groaned. He was exhausted. Every muscle in his body ached. He opened his backpack and took out their guide book to Southwest China. “Hey, we forgot. Our breakfast sandwiches are in here,” he said.
    “They must be cold by now,” said Annie.
    “Who cares?” said Jack. “I’m starving.”
    “Me too,” said Annie.
    Jack gave Annie a cold egg sandwich. Then he unwrapped his own and took a big bite. “Yum!” he said. “It really tastes great.”
    “This is
our
panda bread,” said Annie, “made with love by Mom, one of our keepers.”
    Jack laughed. “Right.”
    “So the panda bread stands for protecting the pandas,” Annie said between bites. “I think it stands for protecting birds, too, like Penny.”
    “Of course,” said Jack, his mouth full.
    “And trees and other plants,” said Annie.
    Jack nodded as he chewed.
    “And dolphins and whales and fish,” said Annie. “All the stuff in the ocean …”
    Jack nodded again.
    Annie finished her sandwich and wiped her mouth. “In fact, there are
millions
of things to protect,” she said.
    “Whoa, slow down,” said Jack. He pulled on his backpack. “One panda at a time.”
    “Right,” said Annie. “One penguin at a time.”
    “Right,” said Jack.
    The two of them climbed down the rope ladder. Then they hurried through the Frog Creek woods, finally on their way to school.

Author’s Note
    O n May 12, 2008, the Great Sichuan Earthquake killed many thousands of people in Southwest China. Though the quake devastated the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve Center, all the workers and all but one of the giant pandas survived. The pandas have since been relocated to other panda reserves, until the Wolong Center is rebuilt.
    News of the disaster in China brought a great deal of attention to the pandas, and support for these beloved animals increased.
    Many organizations were already working hard to save pandas from extinction—groups such as Pandas International, the World Wildlife Fund, the Giant Panda Conservation Fund, and the China Conservation and Research Center forthe Giant Panda. In fact, pandas have become a symbol for the protection of all endangered species of wildlife.
    The panda’s roly-poly body and innocent, shy eyes evoke feelings of awe and wonder, tenderness and compassion. Pandas seem to bring out the best in people. And that is only one of about a thousand good reasons why we should keep them living on this earth.

Here’s an excerpt from

Endangered Species
    It’s difficult to give the total number of endangered species because many have yet to be discovered. It’s estimated that there are almost 10,000 endangered species of plants and animals and another 10,000 that are at risk. The list includes everything from beautiful Fender’s blue butterflies to Steller sea lions, which can reach over 2,000 pounds!
    Overfishing has caused many ocean species to become endangered and almostextinct. Coral reefs are dying off in record numbers due to climate change and pollution. Until recent years, we knew more about the surface of the moon than the depths of the ocean.
    Excerpt copyright © 2012 by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce. Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Sal Murdocca. Yellow-eyed penguin photograph © Tui De Roy/Minden Pictures. Published by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Strange and Wonderful
    Many people know about endangered animals such as tigers, elephants, and whales. But there are also wonderful animals that few people have ever heard of.
    There’s an endangered bat that lives on only a few islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Mariana fruit bat is considered to be a delicacy, so it is illegally hunted and eaten by humans.
    There are about 10,000 bird species; 600 are endangered.
    There are endangered penguins in NewZealand with glowing yellow eyes called yellow-eyed penguins. Because the coastal forests where they nest are being cleared, their habitat is disappearing, and, sadly, so are they.



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