Forest & Desert Ecology, Environmental Science & Ecosystems, Plants - General & Miscellaneous, Environmental Conservation & Protection, Animal Habitats, Forests & Trees, Flowers & Plants, Ecosystems, Exotic Animals

Here Is the Tropical Rain Forest

Name: Here Is the Tropical Rain Forest
Author: Madeleine Dunphy
ISBN: 9780977379514

by Madeleine Dunphy, Michael Rothman

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Overview

Madeleine Dunphy's cumulative tale deftly guides readers on a circular path through the tropical rain forest, introducing fascinating animals along the way and beautifully illustrating the chain-of-life concept. Michael Rothman's artwork, done in myriad shades of green, is dramatic and exceptionally realistic.

Cumulative text presents the animals and plants of the tropical rain forest and their relationship with one another and their environment.

Synopsis

Lyrical words and lush, naturalistic paintings introduce children to the tropical rain forest and the animals that live within its wet, green world. From swinging monkeys and upside-down-hanging sloths to graceful caimans and stalking jaguars, Here Is the Tropical Rain Forest envelops young readers in a stunning jungle while teaching them an important lesson about the ecosystem. Madeleine Dunphy’s rhythmical, cumulative text shows how each plant and animal of the rain forest is inextricably linked with the others in a chain of life. Michael Rothman’s deeply hued and shadowed paintings brilliantly evoke this singular environment.

Children's Literature

This book offers a cumulative, lyrical view of a wet, green community. Rich paintings by Michael Rothman show how the bromeliad, sloth, rain, and rivers make up this "lush and wet world." Children will want to imitate Rothman's artwork by creating their own images of the rain forest or other environments using watercolor paints and/or pastel chalks. Teachers can use large plastic drink bottles for planting miniature terraria simulating rain forests in the classroom.

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Editorials

Children's Literature - Susie Wilde

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

Dunphy describes the creatures, plants and conditions in a tropical rain forest. Fabulous illustrations occupy two-thirds of each spread and visually depict what the text describes. The pages are bordered in green and the text is set against a light green textured background. The lushness of the rain forest permeates every scene. The last page provides the names of the pictured animals and call for help in protecting tropical rain forests. 1997 (orig.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 1-This cumulative tale starts in the rain forest, adds creatures great and small, and ends with the rain that fills the rivers. Rothman's lovely illustrations, done in the lush greens of the wet tropics, accompany the sing-song verses that mimic ``The House that Jack Built.'' Although the format is meant to reinforce the interdependence of life in these special areas of the world, the rhymes have mainly to do with hunting and stalking and do not really show the ecological balance of these areas. The last page names some of the animals shown in the text and suggests that the National Wildlife Federation be contacted in order to help save these threatened lands. As a picture book, this title serves to illustrate some of the rain forest's creatures and to acquaint children with this important part of the world, but it does not provide much factual information.-Eva Elisabeth Von Ancken, Trinity Pawling School, NY

Mary Harris Veeder

Both pictures and language are worthy of note in a text that employs a "this is the house that Jack built" format to link plants, animals, and climate. The frog, for example, who bathes in the rain, is protected by the bromeliad, which is held by the tree, and so on. The words read aloud with a distinct rhythm, and Rothman's artwork, in a palette of subdued greens and browns, shows readers the connectedness of the plants and animals, rather than showing flashy animal species in a Hollywood spotlight. Although killing is not shown, the animals are presented as predators.