The Rainforest Grew All Around

August 1, 2007
Gr 2-4-This lively introduction to plants and animals of the Amazon rainforest is organized around the towering kapok tree. Readers meet a jaguar, a green boa, leafcutter ants, a sloth, and other creatures that live in its branches. The cumulative verse draws them together while the "rainforest grew all around, all around; the rainforest grew all around." Text panels on the sides of the well-laid-out pages offer facts about the plants and animals depicted close up, such as, "Pineapples are bromeliads that grow in the ground." Although the color illustrations resemble those of Lynne Cherry's in "The Great Kapok Tree" (Harcourt, 1990), this book is less message heavy. Two pages of activities plus a recipe for rainforest cookies provide opportunities to extend learning, but there is no musical score."Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2007
Large, brilliantly colored paintings offer close-up views of plants and animals in the rain forest, and the main text revises the lyrics of the traditional song, The Green Grass Grew All Around, adapting the words to feature a rain-forest setting. The use of generic names for the animals makes singing easier, with phrases such as And by the frog /there sat a bird . . ./ the funniest bird / that you ever did see. / The bird by the frog, / and the frog in the plant, / and the plant by the sloth . . . Meanwhile, accompanying sidebars extend the lyrics with information and better identify some of the animals: the bird is a toucan, the frog is a poison dart frog, and the ant is a leaf-cutter ant. The appended activities section offers matching games and a recipe for cookies using ingredients that originate in the rain forest. Teachers looking for a rain-forest book that invites participation will want to sing thisone aloud, as they sharethe striking illustrations with their classes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)