Animals all across the world are living in terrible conditions in captivity. Rob Laidlaw does a great job highlighting bad conditions without sensationalizing things. He provides examples of zoos and sanctuaries that are doing good as well as zoos where he's seen bad conditions for animals. Color photos accompany the text and although some of them are sad none of them are gruesome or gory.

I went into this book expecting a slanted and dramatic portrayal, but came out of it having learned some things and hopeful for the fates of animals in captivity. This is a great choice for animal-rights-minded middle-graders and teens or anyone doing a project on zoos or animals in captivity. ( )