September 2015: Rainforests (Master List and General Discussion)

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

In September 2015, we will be traveling through the pages of picture books to marvelous rainforests.

This is the Master List and General Discussion for a continued discussion of those books not included in our official six selections for September. Please feel welcome to continue adding books and reviews to this list.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

I actually haven't read many books on this subject already so my nominations come with no personal recommendation, they just look good to me and ones I'd be interested to read:

The Umbrella

Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme


Fernando's Gift /El Regalo de Fernando

The Rainforest Grew All Around

"A" Is for Anaconda: A Rainforest Alphabet

-----------------
The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest (I have read this one and it has been previously discussed but deserves mention on this for the Master List)

[Jenny]

Rain Forests: Gardens of Green

Rainforest by Helen Cowcher. Simple text with bright, colorful illustrations.

Tropical Rainforests by Seymour Simon

The Rainforest Grew All Around
We're Roaming in the Rainforest: An Amazon Adventure

Amazing Animals: Rainforest Romp

Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme

[Jenny]

More or Less: A Rain Forest Counting Book

Rain, Rain, Rain Forest

[Jenny]

Rain Forest Secrets

If I Ran the Rain Forest: All About Tropical Rain Forests

Nature's Green Umbrella

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

How about something non-Amazonian? For example, the Pacific Northwest, or northern Australia? I'm not coming up with anything by looking at my library db online, nor do I hope to get good help when I go in today in person - maybe one of you has a better way to search?

[Fjóla]

Don't know if these would make the cut, but some of Graeme Base's books have a "rainforesty" setting, such as

Uno's Garden
Jungle Drums (set in Africa)
The Last King of Angkor Wat (Cambodia)

The Umbrella by Jan Brett (already mentioned here above) is really nice too, it's set in Costa Rica.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Cheryl wrote: "How about something non-Amazonian? For example, the Pacific Northwest, or northern Australia? I'm not coming up with anything by looking at my library db online, nor do I hope to get good help wh..."

I am definitely going to try to find books on temperate rain forests as well.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

A North American Rain Forest Scrapbook (this looks excellent, and is probably the most readily available of the temperate rain forest books I listed)

Garden of the Spirit Bear: Life in the Great Northern Rainforest (British Columbia, Canada, Great Bear Rain Forest, a rain forest severely threatened by logging)

Journey Through the Northern Rainforest

The Most Beautiful Roof in the World: Exploring the Rainforest Canopy

The Living Rain Forest

This Place Is Wet

Animal Poems of the Iguazu/Animalario del Iguazu

The Yellow Cab

Tuki and Moka: A Tale of Two Tamarins

The Frog with the Big Mouth

Where the Forest Meets the Sea

Jirrbal Rainforest Dreamtime Stories

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Fantastic, Gundula. Thank you. I'll be voting on the ones that are in my library system. :)

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

What a wonderful list! Thank you for all the nominations!

It is now time to VOTE for the five books you would most like to read with the group next month. Please select from our official nominations (messages 2-9) and post your votes in a comment below.

Votes will be accepted until August 24th. Thank you!

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

The Most Beautiful Roof in the World: Exploring the Rainforest Canopy

A North American Rain Forest Scrapbook

Where the Forest Meets the Sea

The Living Rain Forest

Garden of the Spirit Bear: Life in the Great Northern Rainforest

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

A North America Rain Forest Scrapbook
Garden of the Spirit Bear
The Yellow Cab
Animal Poems of the Iguaza
The Most Beautiful Roof in the World

[Jenny]

Where the Forest Meets the Sea
Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme
Rain, Rain, Rain Forest
The Living Rain Forest: An Animal Alphabet
Tuki and Moka: A Tale of Two Tamarins

**I really want to read A North American Rain Forest Scrapbook..but it isn't available in my library system, so I'm not voting for it. If it's selected, I will try to get it through ILL.

[Dolly]

My votes:

The Most Beautiful Roof in the World: Exploring the Rainforest Canopy
A North American Rain Forest Scrapbook
The Living Rain Forest
Tropical Rainforests
The Rainforest Grew All Around

[Dolly]

Here's another one for the master list (I know it's too late to be a nominated book): Can You See Me?

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

The votes are in! Here are the books we will read together in September:

The Most Beautiful Roof in the World: Exploring the Rainforest Canopy

A North American Rain Forest Scrapbook

The Living Rain Forest: An Animal Alphabet

Where the Forest Meets the Sea

Garden of the Spirit Bear: Life in the Great Northern Rainforest

Sixth/Alternate: The Rainforest Grew All Around

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

This thread now becomes the Master List and General Discussion for books about Rainforests. Thank you!

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Well, I just read the nominated The Yellow Cab and did not enjoy it at all. Is it a dream, or not? Is the 'save the rainforest' strategy likely to be effective? Is the book even going to persuade readers to read the notes on the end to try to help save the (Brazilian) rainforest? Imo, this is notably unappealing and ineffective.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Otoh, The Frog with the Big Mouth is terrific fun. It's an AV2 book (a leveled reader with an online readalong component) but it's just as fun as an ordinary picture-book. The science and note are educational, but the rhythmic text is just as bouncy as the little 'Pacman' frog himself. I love the page where the frog encounters a long furry spotted tail... some young readers will get excited as they predict what animal is on the next page!

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Thanks for the feedback on those books, Cheryl. I'm going to see if I can get my hands on the one with the "Pacman frog" ;-)

[Jenny]

I am reading a few of these additional rain forest books this month since there were a couple of books chosen that I can't get.

I found The Parrot Tico Tango at our local library. It is fiction...but the setting is the rain forest and it is filled with South American rain forest animals. My review: "This fun, brightly colored cumulative tale was well liked by my 7 yo daughter when she read it to me. The story tells of Tico Tango the parrot who likes to steal mangos (and figs, grapes, cherries, and other fruit) from all the other rainforest animals. Does Tico Tango learn his lesson or does he continue to steal from the other animals? You'll have to read this cute book to find out!"

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Jenny wrote: "I am reading a few of these additional rain forest books this month since there were a couple of books chosen that I can't get.

I found The Parrot Tico Tango at our local library. ..."

Sounds fun! I imagine that is one my son would enjoy, too. Thanks for posting.

[Jenny]

The Umbrella: This is reminiscent of The Mitten although set in a Costa Rican rain forest. A boy goes into the rain forest to see animals. When he doesn't see any on the forest floor, he sets down his umbrella and begins to clim the tall trees to look for animals. Meanwhile, one by one, rainforest animals crawl into the umbrella. The illustrations contain great detail as is typical of Brett's style. A fun, fictional look at the plants and especially the animals of the rain forest.

We're Roaming in the Rainforest: An Amazon Adventure
Bright, colorful illustrations pair with simple dialogue from a variety of rain forest animals. The text is simple enough to capture the attention of preschoolers or to be read by young readers. The book contains additional information about the Amazon rainforest, conservation, the people of the Amazon, and the animals featured in the book. I liked the end matter and felt it added more substance to the book.

Possible classroom uses: *use as a model for lessons on writing dialogue, *possible text while studying rainforest biome, *love another reviewer's idea to use this as a resource when teaching research skills

[Jenny]

Kathryn wrote: "Jenny wrote: "I am reading a few of these additional rain forest books this month since there were a couple of books chosen that I can't get.

I found The Parrot Tico Tango at our lo..."

You're welcome! I bet he would like it.

[Jenny]

Rain Forest Secrets. Here is my review: The illustrations did not wow me, but this is a nice overview of many of the plants and animals of the rain forest (focusing primarily on tropical rain forests, but temperate forests are mentioned as well). The book also details some of the benefits we receive from rain forests as well as the importance of protecting these old growth forests.