One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest (Newbery Medal Winner Series, No 5) [Hardcover]

Jean Craighead George (Author), Gary Allen (Illustrator), Gary J. Allen (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1990 | Age Level: 7 and up | Series: Newbery Medal Winner Series, No 5

The tropical rain forest is Tepui's home. He treasures the lush, humid land where capuchin monkeys, three-toed sloths, jaguars, scarlet macaws, and a splendid array of other wildlife share a rich symbiotic existence. But today is doomsday for young Tepui's beloved rain forest. A caravan of bulldozers and trucks will soon arrive from Caracas to level the forest.

Determined to stop the tragic destruction of his world, Tepui accepts a challenge as mysterious and magnificent as the rain forest itself: to discover a nameless butterfly.

From a microscopic look at a colony of vicious army ants to a timely overview of the rain forest's vital role in the Earth's ecology, Newbery Medalist Jean Craighead George takes readers on an unforgettable journey through a wondrous tropical landscape.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It takes a few pages to catch the rhythm of naturalist George's new book, but once readers do, they'll find themselves drawn in. Set on the banks of the Orinoco River, the fictionalized tale chronicles the efforts of Tepui, an Indian boy, to help a group of scientists find a new species of butterfly, thereby saving the Venezuelan rain forest from being bulldozed into oblivion. The tension created by this literary device--which in the hands of a less skillful writer could have appeared contrived--adds considerable impact to this timely, well-wrought work. George imparts an amazing amount of information about these fast-disappearing tracts of land as she carefully describes the delicate ecological balance of exotic flora and fauna--from flesh-eating army ants to the vast colonies of butterflies that flutter high above the canopy of trees. Children will come away from this book not only with a satisfying story, but more importantly, with a clear understanding of why these areas are worth preserving. Ages 9 - 12.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

George has again taken a microscope to a typical day in a natural region. An Indian boy leads a scientist who is trying to locate a previously unknown butterfly that the scientist hopes will halt the destruction of this particular rain forest. At the same time, a horde of army ants moves across the forest floor; a sloth comes down from a tree for its weekly visit; and other animals go about their daily business. Such ordinary happenings make an exciting sequence of events that holds readers' attention as they also learn facts about the flora and fauna of the rain forest. There may not be enough material here for a report, but the book is an example of nonfiction writing at its best, for readers learn facts and get a sense of the rain forest in diary form rather than straight factual writing. The description of the relationship between the destruction of the rain forest and the greenhouse effect is easy to understand, and the index helps readers wanting specific facts. The drawings are clear, but do not expand the textual information. --Margaret C. Howell, West Springfield Elem . School, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st edition (April 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0690047673
• ISBN-13: 978-0690047677
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,724,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviewed by 2 groups of 3rd grade ESL students, March 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest (Paperback)

1. This book is about Tepui, a boy who lives in the Tropical Rain Forest of the Macaw. The bulldozers and chain sawyers are headed toward the rain forest. Tepui and Dr. Rivero, a biologist, have one more day left to save the rain forest. They need to catch a nameless butterfly, then a rich man will buy the rain forest and name the butterfly after his daughter. Will they be in time? This book is awesome because it has a lot of information about the rain forest and it's a good story.

2. This book is about Tepui, an Indian boy. He lives in a Venezuelan rain forest. Tepui and Dr. Rivero (a biologist) have one day to find a butterfly without a name. If they find the butterfly, a rich man will name the butterfly after his daughter, and buy the rain forest. Will they find the butterfly in time? This book is cool because it has interesting facts about the rain forest.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Much good information, May 29, 2000

By 

Nancy R. Woodington - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest (Library Binding)

An unnamed butterfly must be found today in order to save this chunk of the rainforest. Loggers are already on the way to cut it all down. The premise is exciting, but the execution of the story, particularly in the beginning, is often less than pulse-stirring, weighted down by a thousand facts about rainforests. These facts are, however, by far the most interesting part of the book, and there's even an index. Once I was into the book, I enjoyed it very much. So far I have not been able to get my son to do more than open it, and I think the slow start may be the problem. This would be an exvellent book to have in a classroom during a unit on rainforests.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A young boy's determination to save his beautiful homeland, April 22, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest (Newbery Medal Winner Series, No 5) (Hardcover)

This is a great book. At the start I thought I was headed into a story of good versus bad, where nature played the good guy and man the bad. As if things could be that simple. Instead I found an honest well-balanced story that centers on a young boy's efforts to save his home in the rain forest. Ms. George provides fascinating descriptions of the many layers of animal and human life that are engaged in the same struggle for survival. All is brought to a satisfactory conclusion with the hidden acknowledgement that it still takes one kind of green stuff to save another kind of green stuff.