Gr. 4^-6. This photo-essay records the experiences of seventh-and eighth-grade students from Michigan who traveled to the Peruvian Amazon. There they explored the rain forest canopy and understory, learned about indigenous plant and animal life, visited a town school, traded with a native Amazonian tribe, and began to understand the economic pressures that lead to rain forest devastation and the sometimes complex results of simple actions. When one of the boys buys a sloth in order to return it to the rain forest, his teacher points out that although he may have saved it from becoming someone's dinner, the purchase might encourage the seller to capture other animals "to sell to `softhearted' eco-tourists." Clear, full-color photos focus on the children's experiences as well as on the environment and people they came to know. A different slant on a continually interesting subject.
Carolyn Phelan
Product Description
Follows the journey of a western Michigan seventh-grade class's trip to the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, where they learn about its indigenous habitat and creatures and share in the concern for its preservation.
Publisher's Note: the paperback version of this title is called "Adventures in the Amazon Rain Forest (Ultimate Field Trip , No 1)." The hardback version is called "Bats, Bugs, and Biodiversity; Adventures in the Amazonian Rain Forest."