I appreciated the writing and the information and the caring that went into the creation of this book. I was frustrated by the different voices and the rapidly shifting perspectives and the variations in tone. It's not quite a fair thing to say given that this book was meant to be a collection of voices and perspectives but I felt strongly, as I read, that I would have preferred the book if it had been written by one author.

All of us living on this planet are connected -- plants, animals, humans, all of us are dependent upon one another and with one another comprise the world both seen and unseen. In wildy diverse, wonderfully wrought stories, many talented writers have contributed to this collection celebrating what we living creatures share in common and where our needs intersect, complement, and compete. Our common needs for food, air, water, shelter, space to move, and connection with each other create a common ground not always understood, valued, nor revered. I enjoyed dipping into the stories, emerging with deeper appreciation for what we share -- my dog is impressed. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions. n

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Love the premise of this! The marrying of science and art is fascinating and I think can be very impactful and promote change.

These pieces are short and prefaced by a snippet of a scientific article that the authors were tasked with responding to. I think that the page limit, the portions of the article they were to respond to, and how the connection was made perhaps made for some limitations on the art that came off as doom and gloom or overly preaching to a theme instead of subtly allowing your reader to connect with the subject matter and come to their own conclusions.

Despite this, I believe that this collection is a stepping stone to essential collaboration between scientists and artists to promote the change our world needs.

Thank you NetGalley and University of Minnesota Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not my type of book. I was really intrigued by and still love the idea of a collection of stories and works created off of scientific articles, bringing a more emotional and visceral experience to a thing we don’t normally include emotion in, science. However the actual results varied widely and I couldn’t find a cohesive theme or something to bring it all together besides “everything sucks and it’s all ruined”. No call to action, no hope, just heartbreak. Of course with any collection as well, the book as a whole is only as good as its weakest piece, which hurt this one even further. Intriguing and potentially fascinating but just missed the mark for me.

Science and art unite to save animals!
Creature Needs is a creative approach to bringing the problems of habitat loss and animal extinctions to an audience that is not likely to read deep science books on the subject. Each “chapter” in the book consists of a short excerpt from a science article on a specific problem, such as the serious risk to turtle species due to their ingestion of plastics, followed by a piece of poetry or artistic prose representing a writer’s reaction to the article.
The science articles were eye-opening for me. I read science books for general readers, but these normally treat broader subjects. The articles in Creature Needs get down to very specific issues and species, and I learned a lot of disturbing details. There was the topic of the effect of wind turbines on land-based animals like side-blotched lizards, the fact that camels have unusually small red blood cells that are an adaptation to desert life, how humans use beavers to help restore and protect riparian areas, the harm to eels from dams used to produce hydroelectric power, or how jaguars are being affected by anti-immigration barriers. I also picked up some interesting new vocabulary, like ALAN, “artificial light at night”, which is a real problem for some animals.
The responses to the science by the writers were much more of a mixed bag. A lot of the poetry seemed pretentious and did not engage me. There was also some very nice and imaginative writing. A piece called Ancient Music was a lovely mix of science and thoughtful musing about fish and made me smile. In another piece the writer constructed a clever pairing of her own life with that of migratory snowy owls.
The book description says it is “kaleidoscopic” and that fits! Unlike most kaleidoscopes, though, the structure of this book allows you to pick individual pieces or elements to enjoy while skipping others. If you are prepared to take that approach, I think you will find a lot to enjoy.
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and University of Minnesota Press.

This collection is organized based on six basic needs that animal conservationists recommend: Air, Food, Water, Shelter, Room To Move and Each Other. The introductory essays lays the foundation for this collection, broadly classifying for edification and efficacy. The essays are written by prominent voices, experts, scientists, writers - those who have feet on the ground and ears to ecological pulse. While some of the essays are effective in bring out perspectives that are thought provoking, some require a deeper exploration of an issue for better understanding.

The ones that really, really stand out are those that require a deeper critical look into the ways alternative energies are generated, habitats are created and the notion of conservation requiring radical change in perspective that's more holistic in its approach as an entire ecosystem with its biodiversity, than a targeted species.

A good read calling for urgent need for catering to needs of the non human species in an age of extinction.

<i>Thank you to Netgalley and University of Minnesota Press for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

As an English teacher at a school with an environmental focus, where I’m constantly exploring the ways that literature can fuel a deeper understanding of science, I was immediately intrigued by the premise of Creature Needs: Writers Respond to the Science of Animal Conservation, an anthology of essays, short stories, and poetry. Editors Christopher Kondrich, Lucy Spelman, and Susan Tacent organized their collection around six basic needs that all creatures share: air, food, water, shelter, room to move, and each other. Each need has its own devoted section.

The real hook is what comes next: within each section, the individual creative pieces are inspired by peer-reviewed articles that delve into specific conservation needs or concerns. For example, the article “Bumble Bee Species Distributions and Habitat Associations in the Midwestern USA, a Region of Declining Diversity” inspired Maggie Smith’s lovely poem “A Single Worker,” and “A Systematic Review of Potential Habitat Suitability for the Jaguar Panthera onca in Central Arizona and New Mexico, USA” fueled Sofia Samatar’s essay “The Sublime Is a Foreign Species.”

With each new piece, I eagerly anticipated the way that a given contributor would use the statistics or facts within an article as a springboard for their own reflections, often melding personal anecdotes with considerations of the interconnectedness of the lives of these creatures and our own experiences.

As with all anthologies, some of the pieces resonated more with me than others did, whether because of writing style or because of the way the creator navigated the bridge between the article’s objectively described focus and the subjective truths that often hit more deeply. As a whole, however, Creature Needs was just the text I hoped it would be.

This beautiful book is a joint collaboration between artists, scientists and writers. It piqued my interest in learning more about nature conservation, animal extinction and the loss of natural habitat.

The essays based on recent scientific articles were my favorite parts of the book. Enthralling at many instances, nonetheless, poignant at others.

Moreover, the illustrations were brilliant. The cherry on the cake was the clear and comprehensible language.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advance Reading Copy.

I received a free e-ARC from NetGalley, and that might have been a mistake. I struggle with poetry, and the e-book I received had some formatting challenges that make the poems harder to follow (at least, I hope those were formatting issues).
In addition to the poems were some short fiction pieces and short essays and I liked those better. I have an undergrad degree in Biology so the introduction to each article's topic was actually the best part of each section, in my opinion; however a person does not need a hard science background to understand the topics and appreciate this book.
I think this is actually a great book for literary-minded people who value nature and conservation.