In the Land of the Jaguar: South America and Its People

by Gena K. Gorrell, Andrej Krystoforski (Illustrator)

South America’s story is as varied as its geography of soaring mountains, scorching deserts, and lush rainforests. In Ecuador alone, there are 25,000 kinds of plants, 1,500 species of birds, 4,500 different butterflies, and 300 mammals! Gena K. Gorrell’s brilliant text combines an often tragic history with the problems and triumphs of the present. The information she offers ranges from “the Requirement” (a document read out by the conquistadors each time they came upon a new group of indigenous people to justify their actions) to drug cartels, from the hidden and secretive Elders (a civilization that retreated to the mountains to preserve its customs and now considers itself the “guardian of the world”) to Gabriel García Márquez.

Replete with Andrej Krystoforski’s vibrant illustrations, maps, an index, and bibliography, In the Land of the South America and Its People is a fascinating, colorful journey of exploration and discovery.

Genres: Geography, Nonfiction, History, Middle Grade

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 11, 2007

Reviews

[ECM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Provides a surprisingly in-depth overview of the entire continent. My education was embarrassingly lacking in this area of the planet, so I was glad to read this with Peyton for 7th grade Geography/History.

[Maxine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 13 year old son and I read this book as part of his curriculum for 8th grade. It was a fascinating book that was great explaining the different countries in South America and its people. The pictures were great and the information clear.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good place to start for Middle School age group history about the continent of South America. It covers a lot of ground on the different countries from past to present, culture, and animal and plant life.

[Kimberly Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

My eighth grader snd I really enjoyed this book. Now we want to visit several countries in South America even more than before!

[Isabella.Frohmannoregonfamilyschool.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for my 7th grade curriculum. This book really sums up South America and i really enjoy that. I liked reading about all of the exotic animals in all of the countries.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I realized that I knew very little about our southern neighbor, I discovered this elementary textbook in the hope that it would serve as a good preliminary introduction to the continent. It does just that - outlining key traits and histories for each country. The writing style, however, was too casual - and the editing a bit unprofessional. And, though each South American country was given a good overview, I was left asking a lot of questions (primarily, "why") throughout each chapter. I'd almost give this book four stars for the fun trivia it contains, but since too much else is left mentioned but unexplained, I feel it's not as good as it could have been. (On a side note, I found the appendix 'South America in a Nutshell' poorly placed in the book; it might have better served to establish the history of European nations fighting for territorial control of South America at the beginning of the book.)

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for learning about South American history and nature. My kids and I learned a lot.