cover image Hunt for the Last Cat

Hunt for the Last Cat

Justin Denzel, Denzel Justin. Philomel Books, $14.95 (191pp) ISBN 978-0-399-22101-9

Florida in 6000 B.C. could have been the time and place where the last of the saber-toothed tigers met its death. A boy and girl from different clans, using flint spears and leather slings, might have defended themselves against the fierce tusks and watched as the creature sank to its death in the great sand pits. Such is the scenario that Denzel suggests in this detail-packed account of the rapid extinction of these giant prehistoric mammals. Precise, well-conceived reconstructions of botanical, biological and geological points of interest are deftly interwoven with a mythological coming-of-age story; together the two elements create a well-rounded, compassionate view of prehistory sure to spark further interest in and conjecture about this intriguing time. Ages 9-up. (Nov.)