The Rain Forest

Children's Literature - Debra Briatico

This reference book contains full-color photographs, accurate facts, and surprising statistics about the world's threatened rainforests. This resource contains information about the inhabitants of these fragile ecosystems (plants, amphibians, insects, reptiles, birds, mammals, and indigenous people), human threats to this diverse environment, and the ultimate effects of rainforest destruction on the earth.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-8-- Every page of this book is a delight. High-quality, full-color photographs, large comfortable print, and ample margins invite browsing but also inform. Chapters open with a double-page scene of the rain forest in muted tones, overlaid with several sharper pictures that serve to summarize what will follow. The text, perfectly integrated with the illustrations, is logically developed and easy to understand. The beauty of the rain forests, their value, and the results of their destruction on local people and all humanity are described in nontechnical language, with visual closeups, and sweeping panoramas. Additional information provided in yellow sidebars and captions do not interfere with the flow of the narrative. Although Mutel's Tropical Rain Forests (Lerner, 1991) is also well written and illustrated, its smaller size does not have the same impact. Goodman's book also has more original photography that is more impressive than the standard pictures to which readers may have become accustomed. Wonder s of the Jungle (National Wildlife Federation, 1986) is also striking, but does not emphasize the importance of these habitats to our planet. --Meryl Silverstein, American Museum of Natural History, New York City