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libraryrobin's review against another edition
1.0
A depressing story that I would not recommend for sensitive children or adults. I halso have issues with the authors assigning human emotions to an animal.
backonthealex's review against another edition
5.0
I have to be honest and confess that until I read Jasper's Story I had never heard of a Moon Bear. Moon Bears, like the panda, are native to Asia and are, sadly, captured and put into extraction cages so that the bile produced by their liver can be extracted and used to make herbal medicine.
Jasper's Story is about one Moon Bear, who was rescued from its captivity and brought to the Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu, China. In this lovely picture book, Jill Robinson, founder of the centre, shows how, little by little, Jasper is slowly introduced to the people who will care for him and nurse him back to good health and how, as he becomes used to his new den, he is able go out and play with the other rescued bears. In fact, Jasper seems to have quite a playful side to his personality.
Jasper's life as an extraction bear is given coverage, and there are some illustrations of the small, confining cages that he was kept in, but much to Jill Robinson's credit, this is done skillfully and tastefully so that it doesn't scare or upset young readers. Robinson focuses most of Jasper's Story on the time that Jasper spends at the rescue centre, his recovery and his newly gained freedom.
Teaching young readers about the exploitation and mistreatment of animals can be a real slippery slope for writers, but Robinson has done an exceptional job of it in this picture book for older readers. In addition, Jasper's Story has been realistically illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen in rich earth and sky tones that betrayal his own love of nature and wildlife.
Jasper has become the face of successful moon bear rescue and efforts to stop bile extraction in Asia. There is also interesting and informative back matter about Jasper in particular and moon bears in general, written by Robinson, van Frankenhuyzen and Marc Bekoff, an animal behavior specialist and Professor Emeritus that shouldn't be missed.
This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
Jasper's Story is about one Moon Bear, who was rescued from its captivity and brought to the Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu, China. In this lovely picture book, Jill Robinson, founder of the centre, shows how, little by little, Jasper is slowly introduced to the people who will care for him and nurse him back to good health and how, as he becomes used to his new den, he is able go out and play with the other rescued bears. In fact, Jasper seems to have quite a playful side to his personality.
Jasper's life as an extraction bear is given coverage, and there are some illustrations of the small, confining cages that he was kept in, but much to Jill Robinson's credit, this is done skillfully and tastefully so that it doesn't scare or upset young readers. Robinson focuses most of Jasper's Story on the time that Jasper spends at the rescue centre, his recovery and his newly gained freedom.
Teaching young readers about the exploitation and mistreatment of animals can be a real slippery slope for writers, but Robinson has done an exceptional job of it in this picture book for older readers. In addition, Jasper's Story has been realistically illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen in rich earth and sky tones that betrayal his own love of nature and wildlife.
Jasper has become the face of successful moon bear rescue and efforts to stop bile extraction in Asia. There is also interesting and informative back matter about Jasper in particular and moon bears in general, written by Robinson, van Frankenhuyzen and Marc Bekoff, an animal behavior specialist and Professor Emeritus that shouldn't be missed.
This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
jillcd's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful illustrations that are extremely life like. A good book for animal lovers.
nutti72's review against another edition
4.0
Great juvenile narrative non fiction. The illustrations are gorgeous. Caledcott worth material. Great for a unit on ecology and respect for other living creatures.
literacydocent's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't know anything about the moon bear until I read this book. Told in a narrative tone, the story of Jasper is one that readers will connect with and enjoy. The illustrations are beautiful.
tashrow's review
5.0
Held captive for years by bear “farmers” who kept him in a too-small cage and harvested bile from his body, Jasper’s story is representative of many captive moon bears. Now Jasper has been rescued by Animals Asia, an animal welfare organization. He is taken to their Moon Bear Rescue Center where his medical needs are attended to and he is put into the sanctuary. There, Jasper walks on grass for the first time in his life. Caregivers work to teach Jasper how to find food on his own, hiding food in toys and places to dig. In time, Jasper’s life starts to change. He begins to play more, get stronger, and make friends. Jasper is one success story among many, a testament to what rescue can do to save animals that might have been considered too damaged to rescue.
Robinson and Bekoff write in a very engaging way in this nonfiction picture book. They invest time in telling the story of the abuse as well as painting a beautiful picture of moon bears in the wild: “Far away in the mist-covered mountains of China, the moon sends yellow arcs of light across the hills, softly painting the forests with a luminous glow.” They describe the way that wild animals sleep with a sense of freedom. The prose is beautiful, clearly painting the value of these animals and the importance of their rescue and rehabilitation.
The illustrations are equally evocative. The paintings have a wonderful sense of place, showing the workers at the sanctuary and the horror of the small cages with equal attention. I particularly like the way that the opening image relates to that at the end, showing that Jasper is once again more like the wild moon bears than the abused ones.
A great book on the importance of animal rehabilitation and rescue, this book will speak volumes to every child who picks it up and meets Jasper. Appropriate for ages 7-9.
Robinson and Bekoff write in a very engaging way in this nonfiction picture book. They invest time in telling the story of the abuse as well as painting a beautiful picture of moon bears in the wild: “Far away in the mist-covered mountains of China, the moon sends yellow arcs of light across the hills, softly painting the forests with a luminous glow.” They describe the way that wild animals sleep with a sense of freedom. The prose is beautiful, clearly painting the value of these animals and the importance of their rescue and rehabilitation.
The illustrations are equally evocative. The paintings have a wonderful sense of place, showing the workers at the sanctuary and the horror of the small cages with equal attention. I particularly like the way that the opening image relates to that at the end, showing that Jasper is once again more like the wild moon bears than the abused ones.
A great book on the importance of animal rehabilitation and rescue, this book will speak volumes to every child who picks it up and meets Jasper. Appropriate for ages 7-9.
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