What's Up in the Amazon Rainforest

July 13, 2015
Clarke launches a nonfiction series with an in-depth look at the Amazon rainforest. Faded map backgrounds, faux “taped-in” photographs, and pages marked with colored pencil create the feeling of an explorer’s notebook as Clarke walks readers through the history of the Amazon, threats like deforestation, and the animals and humans that populate it; noting that some 500 tribes live in the Amazon (and not all of them communicate with outsiders), Clarke introduces a handful of peoples, including the Yanomami, Matis, and Kayapó. The Amazon itself is enormous (“almost as big as the United States”), and Clarke capably covers substantial terrain in this book, too, making it an asset for readers looking to learn about one of the world’s most vibrant and important regions—or as Clarke puts it, a “crazy, cool, and crucial habitat.” Ages 8–12.