Which animals live in small ponds on the tops of trees and never see the ground? 

REVIEWS:

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL. Reviewer: Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

Simon’s short overview has a familiar format: large pages of oversize text facing sharp color photos of trees, animals, and plants provide an inviting overview of the biome that is populated by the largest variety of plant and animal species…

Simon's short overview has a familiar format: large pages of oversize text facing sharp color photos of trees, animals, and plants provide an inviting overview of the biome that is populated by the largest variety of plant and animal species on the planet, with many of them yet to be discovered. Photo sources are identified, but there are no captions. Simon's careful descriptions hold a great deal of appeal for young people. He describes each of the rainforest's layers, along with some unusual plants, animals, and insects (e.g., bromeliads, sloths, pangolins, army ants) and explains that many medicines, oils, spices, fruits, and nuts are products of rainforest trees and plants. He also notes that areas of rainforest are being lost as they are cleared for farming or mining. This book is more focused and offers better descriptions than Darlene R. Stille's Tropical Rain Forests (Children's Press, 2000). Nancy Smiler Levinson's Rain Forests (Holiday House, 2008) and Gail Gibbons's Nature's Green Umbrella (HarperCollins, 1994) are suitable for younger children, and Philip Johansson's The Tropical Rain Forest: A Web of Life (Enslow, 2004) is the choice for reports. © Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.

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KIDS LIT BLOG (Menasha Library, Top 100 Blogs)

Veteran children’s nonfiction author, Seymour Simon, returns with this Smithsonian Institution book on rainforests. With full color images featuring interesting wildlife and grand expanses of forest, the book is an enticing introduction to tropical rainforests for children. The importance of…

Veteran children’s nonfiction author, Seymour Simon, returns with this Smithsonian Institution book on rainforests. With full color images featuring interesting wildlife and grand expanses of forest, the book is an enticing introduction to tropical rainforests for children. The importance of rainforests for the entire planet is woven into the particulars about the animals and plants that can be found there. Making up just 2% of the earth’s surface, these forests are home to millions of insects, plants and animals. Simon reveals their uniqueness and beauty as he writes with passion about their importance. Though he is writing nonfiction, Simon writes with an almost poetic voice. He has a graceful sense of wonder in his prose, never allowing the rainforest to be reduced to a list of creatures that inhabit it. Instead, Simon waters the book with plenty of facts, offers a sunshine of lovely little moments (like the way that you can hear the army ants hiss because there are so many of them) and brings out the beauty with the lush photography. This is a science book for real science lovers, where the science is the loveliness of the world around us with so many details that make it amazing. Unlike most science books, this one reads aloud very well. Though you will find yourself stopping regularly to discuss an interesting point or take a closer look at an image. A book that is sure to warm up wintry days, this is a scientific vacation to the rainforest. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

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