Plants of the Rain Forest

Children's Literature

In describing the rainforests around the globe, this title attempts to generalize about the plants living in the rainforests in Central and South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. While this helps discuss similarities efficiently, it makes it difficult for a child researcher to understand differences. It also makes specific information about a country hard to dig out and leaves readers uncertain that information about a particular country applies equally to others. Are bananas, rice, or plantain grown in every rainforest? In this volume a clear discussion of the canopy, understory and forest floor precedes the discussion of seeding, rotting, growth, root systems and other aspects of a nutrient-poor growing medium. Few specific plants are mentioned, and only bananas and the rubber tree are named in photographs that face text pages. While Gail Gibbons's Nature's Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests covers much of the same territory in a more lively and inviting manner, this volume is one of the best in the series. A glossary includes words specific to rainforests but others are more generic. Endmatter includes four Internet sites and an index. Part of the "Checkerboard Rain Forest" series. 1999, ABDO Publishing, $19.92. Ages 8 to 11. Reviewer: Susan Hepler