Long before its establishment as a national park in 1872, Yellowstone
was home to the gray wolf, as well as other large predators. But the
relationship between human and wolf has always been a tense and
complicated one. Predator control programs were developed and, by the
mid-1900s, wolves had almost been entirely eliminated from the region
and even the lower United States. The removal of even one strand of an
ecosystem's complex web can have a ripple effect, though. Using the
structure of The House that Jack Built, science writer Mary Kay Carson
shows the interconnectedness of the wildlife that lives in a place and
how the presence (or absence) of a single species can impact an
ecosystem so that the physical landscape itself is altered. Engaging
text and colorful detailed artwork make the natural science
understandable and accessible to young readers. With so many of Earth's
ecosystems under threat by climate change, pollution, and loss of
habitat, this is a critical and timely topic. Back matter includes
information on the Yellowstone region during the wolves' absence and
after their reintroduction.