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Description
According to Publisher's Weekly, this book combines illustrations that reveal a naturalist's reverence for beauty with a myth-like story that explains the ecological importance of saving the rain forests. The text is not a didactic treatise, but a simply told story about a man who falls asleep while chopping down a kapok tree. The forest's inhabitants--snakes, butterflies, a jaguar, and finally a child--each whisper in his ear about the terrible consequences of living in "a world without trees" or beauty, about the interconnectedness of all living things. When the man awakens and sees all the extraordinary creatures around him, he leaves his ax and "walks out of the rain forest." A map showing the earth's endangered forests and the creatures that dwell within ends the book which, like the rain forests themselves, is "wondrous and rare."
General Assessment
Recommendation of how and where to use it
This book could be incorporated into a study on habitats. Teachers may bring drama and art as a companion and encourage students to explore and act out the different types of animals. Students could assume the character of the animal and also write letters to the man who fell asleep in the rainforest, asking him to respect their habitat.
Relevant Grades and Subjects
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a grade listed below.
Themes Addressed
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Citizenship (1)
- Ecological Footprint
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Ecosystems (4)
- Appreciating the Natural World
- Habitat Loss
- Interdependence
- Wildlife Protection
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Land Use & Natural Resources (1)
- Forests
