However, the cartoonish humor and colorful illustrations are juxtaposed by the somber message of humankind’s overwhelming involvement in the extinction process. Rather than showcase the lives of the various species, the authors instead focus on their political agenda: humans are disruptive and callous predators. The beauty of these distant marvels is undermined by the cynical tone, which left me feeling ashamed and alienated rather than empowered and informed. Despite a visually engaging attempt at history, I found myself unable to connect with this book due in large part to the authors’ pervasive judgment and blame.

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The Fairies Return, Or, New Tales for Old

For those unfamiliar with the name (hint: think Finding Neverland), Peter Davies was the youngest son of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and the namesake to J.M. Barrie’s eternally youthful Peter Pan. While there is some speculation about whether Peter or his older brother Michael was the actual inspiration for the character, Peter was burdened most of his life by his immortal name. That got me wondering about other real-life muses plagued by their literary stardom. To name a few:

• Alice Liddell (Alice of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) begged her neighbor Charles Lutwidge Dodgson—better known  as Lewis Carroll—to tell her a story. However, scholars have long debated the appropriateness of Dodgson’s relationship with the young girl and her sisters.
• Christopher Robin Milne (Christopher Robin of Winnie-the-Pooh) was the son of A.A. Milne. As a child, he received a stuffed bear he called Edward, and carried him everywhere. This relationship inspired his father’s most famous literary vision . . . and also got Christopher teased shamelessly by his peers.
• John Nettleship (Severus Snape of the Harry Potter series) was J.K. Rowling’s middle school Chemistry teacher. He was horrified and embarrassed to learn that he was one of three inspirations for the vilified Professor Snape.
• John Gray (Dorian Gray of The Picture of Dorian Gray) was a friend of Oscar Wilde who was so offended by the similarities between himself and the youthful Dorian he threatened to sue the publication who first called him “Dorian”.

That said, the desire for literary immortality is still appealing for many. If you had to pick a literary figure to be your own doppelganger, who would it be?

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