When the Rivers Go Home

School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-- Lewin describes ``a marsh the size of Pennsylvania'' in Brazil called the Pantanal in Portuguese, or ``big swamp.'' A one-page introduction sets the scene, describing the 85-mile road that goes straight through the area. In the following pages, realistic full-page watercolor illustrations in Lewin's trademark style offer the images along the way: colorful birds; thousands of jacare, or South American caiman; a Pantaneiro family fishing in a dugout canoe; a capybara, the world's largest rodent; and the Pantanal' s cowboys, the vaqueiros . Unfortunately, readers never actually know that the trip down this long, dusty, bumpy road has begun, so it is disconcerting to find ``It is late afternoon and we have reached the end of the road.'' Those who skip the introduction, as they might since it is unembellished and in smaller print than the text, will get only the briefest of descriptions of the many sights. Nevertheless, the uniqueness of the flora and fauna is conveyed, and Lewin's illustrations, especially those of the cowboys on the cattle drive, have strong dramatic appeal. Useful for supplemental material in geography, conservation, and ecology units. No pronunciation clues are given for the many Portuguese words. --Ellen Fader, Westport Public Library, CT