Rain Forest Secrets [Paperback]

Arthur Dorros (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1999 | Age Level: 6 and up

Based on the author's travels with scientists in South and Central America, this award-winning picture book offers a close-up look at the plants and animals in rain forests throughout the world. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This pedantically written, poorly organized introduction to rain forests concentrates on the tropical rain forest of the Amazon basin (which the author never mentions is in South America). A cursory examination of flora and fauna begins at the forest floor--with leafcutter ants, and trees with "stilt" or "buttress" roots--and works its way upward to the canopy, the top layer of trees. Following is a short discussion of the clearing of the rain forests and the global threat posed thereby. Important topics such as temperate rain forests, montane rain forests and mangrove forests are mentioned almost as afterthoughts. Belying the title's promise, there are no "secrets" revealed. Dorros's ( Me and My Shadow ) watercolors are painted in a naive style with little regard for perspective, a technique that seems unsuited to the text. Ages 6-9.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4-- A serviceable and somewhat engaging look at the ecology of rain forests, describing the animals and plants found there and exploring reasons why these places must be protected. Unfortunately, the text is occasionally weak. The word "canopy" is used twice before it is defined; some words are italicized but never defined or are merely labelled on nearby illustrations; and there is no glossary. The watercolor illustrations are more cartoonlike than realistic, which suits the informal tone of the text. The book's one map uses two such similar shades of green that it nearly negates its purpose: to differentiate between the locations of tropical and temperate rain forests. In addition, only continents are labelled, so the statement "Temperate rain forests grow along the west coast of North America, from northern California to British Columbia, Canada, and Alaska" is valuable only to readers with a good grasp of geography. Also, the text is at times vague; for example, many children will not know what country or continent the following refers to: "The Amazon river, flowing through the biggest rain forest in the world, carries one-sixth of all the earth's water that flows into oceans." Included is a well-balanced list of organizations to contact for further information. Adequate as a starting place for discussion since there is little available on the subject, especially for this age group; complete the picture with books about specific animals and places, and an atlas. --Ellen Fader, Westport Public Library, CT
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic; Reprint edition (July 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439063949
• ISBN-13: 978-0439063944
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Forests & Trees

More About the Author

Arthur Dorros is a real-life papa. He learned Spanish while living in Latin America and helped teach his son, Alex, the language. One of Alex's first words was "agua," and Arthur called him "Agua Man."
Arthur Dorros is the author of many books for children, including JULIO'S Magic, a CLASP Amaricas Award Commended Title, and the popular Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science book Ant Cities. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice illustration- lacking clarity, October 24, 2011

By 

Celine (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rain Forest Secrets (Paperback)

My daughter is studying rainforest (Grade 2) at school and brought this book back home for her own 'enjoyment'. While it covers many of the concepts on the topic, I agree with the Library review (with the product description) in that it is poorly organized, provides little structure to children, no glossary, and very little geographic references. We went on our own to the globe we have at home to look at the equator, and different locations mentioned in the book. While she is a very good reader- above grade level- my daughter struggled to remain interested in the text. Sentences are not made easy to read and we had to re-read it together to make her feel that she had a pretty good grasp of the book. We enjoyed the illustrations though, and the labeling. I do not have alternatives to suggest though.