Rain Forests (First Reports) ANNOTATION
Describes what a rain forest is and what types of plants and animals reside there.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature
This entry in the "First Reports" series describes the climate, forest features, animals (divided into hanging and swinging animals and creeping or crawling ones), and plants found in rain forests. Tapirs, sloths, leaf-cutter ants, snakes and anteaters are some of the animals mentioned (no butterflies). A short section presents the rainforest-dwelling people in Brazil and in the Congo who live along the river. Reasons to protect the rainforests included in the text are to save animals, to preserve plants that may help humans and to save an important food source. Special vocabulary (eleven words including understory, highlands, humidity, canopy, forest floor and arboreal) appears in bold type and again in a glossary. Pictures are current, varied and well-captioned. This useful and clearly written text provides a good introduction to the subject for young readers and is supported with a short "Did You Know?" section, "Facts at a Glance," book and web site references, an index and "Places to Write to for More Information." 2001, Compass Point Books, $21.26. Ages 6 to 9. Reviewer: Susan Hepler
School Library Journal
Gr 2-4-These books provide a satisfactory but cursory overview of the assigned topics. Each one summarizes the physical features of the ecosystem, describes the plants and animals that live there, and mentions the human interactions that pose threats to the environment. Neither writing nor illustration is compelling enough to interest readers other than those writing reports. Rain Forest is unusual in its mention of temperate as well as tropical rain forests. However, that inclusion stretches coverage of every subtopic even thinner. Libraries with books such as Caleb Owens's Coral Reefs (Child's World, 1998) or Jonathan Grupper's Destination: Rainforest (National Geographic, 1997) and other basic titles can pass on these entries in crowded fields.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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