Over in the Rain Forest

by Peter Roop, Connie Roop, Carol Schwartz (Illustrator)

Animals of the rain forest.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Peter Roop is an award-winning author and educator who has written over one hundred children’s books including biographies, novels, humor, picture books, and science books. Seven of his books are Reading Rainbow books, including the Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie. In 2013, the Wisconsin Library Association recognized Peter and his wife, Connie Roop, as Notable Wisconsin Authors for their body of work, and Peter has been named a Wisconsin State Teacher of the Year. The Roops live in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Tai Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over in the rain forest,
under the hot, tropical sun...

This poetic book featured rhyming verses following a fun and descriptive text, and featured wonderful, colorful illustrations on each page. Each page takes us on a journey across the rain forest, where we are introduced to many different animals, bugs, and reptiles as well as their growing number of babies. We also get to see where in the rain forest each creature lived and what they did during the day. The back of the book features a lovely glossary that lists the name and description of each animal mentioned in the book as well as "rain forest words," a section to define what words used in the book mean in relation to the rain forest environments they were reading about.

The rhyming pattern of the book would make this text a great read aloud for kinder and first. It would also make a great read aloud for 2nd and 3rd grade as they begin to expand their knowledge about things beyond the classroom. It would also be good to have in the classroom library for 4th and 5th grade for students to read and engage with for fun.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Vivo, Maddie is enthusiastic about kinkajous. But even and seven are a terrible rhyme.

[Faith Boultinghouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keywords: animal fantasy, young readers, rhyme, repetition

Summary: This book tells the different stories of animals in the rainforest. It displays repetition as a common theme. The book is meant to be a sing song with its rhymes and fun rainforest characters. There is not necessarily a book with a deep plot, but one to just have fun reading.

Prompt: In most terms this is considered a quality book. It does have fun colorful illustrations, and the pacing of the book keeps the readers going as it is a sing song book. In addition the characters are cute and fun rainforest characters with their mothers. However, because this book is meant for younger audiences and interactive read alouds, it does not carry a clear plot, or a setting that moves the story along. However, the setting is very clear and colorfully stated in the rainforest.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

(book version)

Learn about many of the animals while singing to the tune "Over in the Meadow."