ohn Duggleby's “Gone Forever: The Sabertooth Cat” aims at a middle-grade audience. By and large, I believe that it meets its mark. However, I found myself frustrated by the illustrations, or rather, the captions. Constant references to “lion” under photos of “mountain lions” was distracting to this reviewer – of all of the synonyms for that particular big cat, couldn't they have used one that doesn't commonly refer to a totally different animal? Further, I would have rather seen drawings of Smilodon or more photos of its skulls and preserved skeletons than of modern-day big cats.
When I was done, I felt like the book provided me with some information about the sabertooth cat, but could have done a better and more entertaining job in the same space.
RATING: 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars where 1/2 stars are not permitted.