Glowing Bunnies!?: Why We’re Making Hybrids, Chimeras, and Clones
Our brave new world is here. With modern bioengineering, science fiction’s “what if?” has become the scientist’s “why not?” Today, we have the tools to remake animals in almost any way we want, and genetic engineering is being used to help solve a range of urgent problems related to climate change, species extinctions, conservation, disease, human health, and in the food industry. But as science fiction likes to warn us, altering animals isn’t without dangers, and it raises profound ethical questions. A 2022 Junior Library Guild selection, Glowing Bunnies!? explores how genetic engineering is currently reshaping animals and our world and asks that all-important question: Given what we can do, what should we do? [Lerner Books, May 2022]
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) has named Glowing Bunnies!? a 2023 Golden Kite Award Finalist!
Glowing Bunnies!? has also been named a Best Book for Teens 2022 by the New York Public Library!
“A chickenosaurus hatches, a liger stalks prey, and a cyborg rat zips through mazes in Campbell’s unique look at animal bioengineering. . . . Campbell’s intriguing, easily digestible foray into animal gene editing . . . proves thought-provoking. This enlightening work encourages readers to ask questions and conduct their own research, while maintaining that science continues evolving and changing faster than one can blink.” ―Publishers Weekly
A controversial subject presented with verve that allows readers to make up their own minds. . . . The writer’s emphasis on animal welfare will resonate with his audience. —Kirkus
Written . . . with a sense of humor, . . . stories about genetically modified animals are riveting as well as thought-provoking, making it difficult to quit reading. Highly recommended. —School Library Connection
[The author] asks guided questions but ultimately allows readers to decide for themselves. [A] high-interest, debatable topic. ―Booklist
Download the free Glowing Bunnies!? teachers guide.
Draw the Line: 100+ Things You Can Do to Change the World!
Over a hundred comic artists from across the globe illustrate the many actions we can take to help improve our world. Cowritten with creator and artist Myfanwy Tristram, this rabble-rousing, humorous, visually stunning guide is the perfect antidote to frustration and despair over the current state of society and politics. Be inspired, get involved, and “draw the line.” [Street Noise Books, November 2021]
One of the truly brilliant comics of our time. It shows, with splendid art, just what people can do to save the world, in all its wonders, from destruction, and to re-create their own lives in the process. —Paul Buhle, editor of Wobblies! and Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of American Empire
Last of the Giants: The Rise and Fall of Earth’s Most Dominant Species
Written for young adults, Last of the Giants tells the stories of thirteen giant species who once dominated our world but who have suffered loss and extinction in modern times. What happened when humans first met these beasts, and what role have we played in their demise? Most of all, how can we change the fate of giant species today? A 2016 Junior Library Guild selection, Last of the Giants explores our role in the world’s current extinction crisis, why it matters, and how we can learn to live with the awe-inspiring creatures who still rule Earth’s remaining wilderness. [Zest Books, March 2016]
Emphasizing the connection between extinction and conservation throughout, . . . these timely, important, and fascinating stories will encourage readers to save all life, no matter its size. —Booklist (starred review)
The text’s explorations of these annihilated species are complex and perceptive. . . . Required reading for the budding naturalist and a good pairing for a STEM or history curriculum, too. —School Library Journal (starred review)
Daisy to the Rescue: True Stories of Daring Dogs, Paramedic Parrots, and Other Animal Heroes
With their love and companionship, animals help make human lives better every day. But sometimes animals literally save our lives. Daisy to the Rescue celebrates over fifty of these heroic animals with stunning portraits and detailed accounts. Throughout, the book asks why these animals act the way they do—often putting themselves in harm’s way in the process.
By examining the incredible life-saving exploits of dogs, dolphins, pigs, parrots, horses, gorillas, seals, and more, Daisy to the Rescue makes a compelling case for the presence of empathy, compassion, morality, and even altruism in other animals. [Zest Books, October 2014]
Daisy to the Rescue has won the 2015 Independent Publisher Book Award National Gold Medal in the Animals/Pets category, and Foreword Reviews’ 2014 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Bronze Award in Young Adult Nonfiction.
When starting these fifty tender stories, prepare to get teary eyed. Anyone who has ever bonded with an animal will love this book. —Voice of Youth Advocates
Individual stories of animal derring-do, illustrated with pencil portraits, make for quick, compelling reads that prompt the reader to wonder what really goes on in an animal’s head and heart. Give this to anyone from middle school to adult who shares that curiosity. —Booklist
Overflowing with . . . fascinating tales and thought-provoking information. —Kirkus Reviews
Campbell’s compelling examples and engaging storytelling style make strong cases for animal altruism, and they encourage further examination of everyday human-animal encounters. —Foreword Reviews (five stars)
The author’s voice is strongly felt throughout, . . . the text flows well, and the compact content is intense. . . . The documentation shines. —School Library Journal
From kangaroo to lion, from dolphin to dog, and from horse to hamster (there really isn’t a hamster, but there is a rabbit), the stories will touch readers’ hearts and stir their imagination. . . . This book would also be a great choice for nonfiction reading in the school setting. —Examiner.com
Books by Jeff Campbell 
I am reading your book “Last Of The Giants” and in page 136 on Island Hopping, you state that humans arrive on Cuba 6,000 years ago and were, partly responsible for the extinction of ground sloths, giant rodents and flightless owl. That would predate Mayan culture by a few thousand years. Who were these people, and where do you propose they come from originally?
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Lucas, Thanks for your interest in Giants, and I hope you’re enjoying the book. I’m not sure the peopling of Cuba is related to the Maya, per se. People were in the Americas from 12,000 years ago at least, and some of these peoples were certainly the ones to go to Cuba. I got that particular dating from Tim Flannery, A Gap in Nature. Indeed, one of the big surprises for me working on that book is how speculative so much prehistoric dating still is.
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I have a son on the spectrum who started reading your book “The Last of the Giants”, and wants to finish but he is having a hard time. He doesn’t want us to read it aloud to him but he is having such difficulty because he has convinced himself he hates reading. Has there been an audio book created thy I could download?
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I’m glad your son is enjoying Giants, but I’m sorry he’s struggling with reading itself. Indeed, I wrote the book the way I did to make these topics fun and exciting to read. I firmly believe no one “hates reading.” They just haven’t found stories and writing that excite them yet. Unfortunately, there’s no audiobook available. Perhaps he could try listening to you read aloud first, and then read for himself next. Also, while it’s a different topic, the stories in “Daisy to the Rescue” are shorter and more accessible, and he might have more success on his own with them. Thanks, Jeff
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I love your bool “Glowing Bunnies!?”, It really helped my science essay on glowing rabbits.
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Thanks, Lucy! I’m glad it helped and you enjoyed it.
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