Day 151: We're Roaming in the Rainforest

Looking for a fabulous Earth Day book?  Check out the beautifully illustrated and fantastically educational We're Roaming in the Rainforest by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson.  Follow along from sunrise to sunset as parrots squawk, monkeys chatter, sloths doze, caimans snap, and jaguars growl in one of the most magical places on earth:  the Amazon Rainforest!  We've had this book for a few months now, and my son absolutely loves it.  He is obsessed with animals at the moment, so loves learning about some of the exotic creatures that call the Amazon home.  My daughter is always fascinated by the bold, colorful illustrations and can't wait to spot the animals on each page.  Among (many) other things, I love that she and my son are both so engaged while we read it.  (It's not always easy to find books that appeal equally to 4 year olds and 20 month olds!)  We especially love learning about some of the lesser known rainforest animals that are featured in this book, such as pink river dolphins and giant river otters.  Did you know that poison dart frogs are smaller than your thumb nail, or that green iguanas can grow to be six feet long?  I didn't, either, until I read this story.  Like so many of our favorite books, We're Roaming in the Rainforest features all kinds of fabulous educational extras once the story itself has ended.  The endnotes cover a range of topics, including the peoples and native tribes of the Amazon, the role of the rainforest as a vital global resource, conservation efforts, and interesting facts about each of the animals featured in the book.  And, of course, there is a map!  You can see why this book is so great now, right?  It's fun to read, teaches us all kinds of new things, and appeals to kids of all ages.  What's not to love?  If you're looking for a book to read with your child or class this Earth Day, this is one we highly recommend.

Day 119: Where's My Mom?

We first checked this delightful story out of the library several months ago after we fell in love with Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo.  Given that I had just featured one of her books, though, I decided to wait and come back to Where's My Mom? another time.   My son happened to notice this book again the last time we were at the library, so we brought it home and have read it several times since.  I am happy to report that he loves it just as much now as he did a few months ago, and I'm glad to have been reminded to feature this adorable story here on our blog.  A little monkey is lost in the jungle and unable to find his mom.  A friendly butterfly eagerly sets out to help him, asking questions about his mom's appearance along the way.  "Hush, little monkey, don't you cry.  I'll help you find her," said butterfly. "Let's have a think.  How big is she?"  "She's big!" said the monkey.  "Bigger than me."  "Bigger than you?  Then I've seen your mom.  Come, little monkey, come, come, come."  Excitedly, we turn the page, only to find that the butterfly has led the little monkey to... an elephant!  Each time the monkey describes some other feature of his mother -- her tail that coils around trees, or the fact that she leaps and springs and lives high in the treetops -- the butterfly is convinced she knows where to find her.  And each time, the poor monkey is brought to the wrong animal mother.  We love anticipating what animal the butterfly might take us to next, and my son finds the whole series of mistaken identities to be incredibly silly.  When the monkey is brought back to the elephant again, we can't help but laugh and feel sorry for him, not to mention wonder why on earth the butterfly keeps leading him so astray!  Donaldson has a clever reason why, of course, and once we find out what it is, the story becomes even more charming.  Finally, our little monkey friend is happily reunited with his parents, at which point my son usually requests to go back and read the story again.  The illustrations are cute and colorful, and the verse flows easily and well, overall.  At first I wondered, though, why some of the rhyme schemes seemed a bit off ("Come little monkey, come, come, come.  It's time I took you home to mom.")  "Come" and "mom" clearly don't rhyme...  But then I learned that the American version of the book has been changed ("Mum" is the original word in the British version, which flows much better), as has the title.  In the U.S., this book is called "Where's My Mom?", but in the U.K., it is called "Monkey Puzzle."  I'm not sure why publishers felt the need to change the title and some of the words, but there you go.  My little guy calls me "Mum Mum" anyway, so I just change "Mom" to "Mum" as we read so it sounds nicer.  Either way, we both thoroughly enjoy this book and think that you will, too.

Day 103: Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth

We love Eric Carle here in our house, and this book has to be one of my son's favorites at the moment.  He's been fascinated by sloths since seeing them in Marianne Berkes' Over in the Jungle, and this book gives all kinds of interesting information about these peaceful creatures in a forward by Jane Goodall.  Did you know sloths sleep 15 to 19 hours a day and are so inactive that algae grows on their fur?  Can't say that would be my camouflage of choice, but it works for them!  Eric Carle has created another artistic masterpiece, this time full of colorful images and animals from the rain forest.  The sloth's fellow jungle friends wonder about the quiet creature who hangs upside down in the tree all day and night, and begin to ask him questions:  "Why are you so slow?  Why are you so boring?  Why are you so lazy?"  After listening and thinking for a long time, the sloth finally replies in a fabulously articulate fashion.  In what other children's book can you find such fantastic vocabulary words as lackadaisical, unflappable, languid, stoic, impassive, lethargic, placid, and mellow?   I love the educational elements of Carle's stories, and my son loves finding the rain forest creatures on each page.  Be sure to check out the complete list of rain forest animals that appear in the book on the inside back cover, including a peccary, puma, anaconda, caiman, coati, howler monkey, and more!  My son also loves to quote this book:  whenever I ask him to hurry up to do something, he almost inevitably replies (going as slowly as he can), "I'm going sloooowly, like a sloth."  (It's the only time he doesn't move at top speed!)  Carle created this book to celebrate the beauty of the Amazon rain forest, and Goodall's foreward further calls upon readers to help protect and conserve rain forest habitats and species such as the sloth around the world.  Perhaps most importantly, it reminds us of the importance of slowing down to enjoy our world every once in a while.  If your child loves animals or the colorful work of Eric Carle, add this great book to your library list.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!  

Day 5: Over In the Jungle - A Rainforest Rhyme

Okay, I'm sure I'll say this many times over the course of this blog, but I love, love, love this book!   LOVE!  This is another random library shelf find, and another book I have long had memorized.  I was shocked and disappointed to find that my local Barnes and Noble doesn't carry it, (a book this good?  Seriously?) but fortunately you can find it in both hardcover and paperback on amazon.  Phew.  Marianne Berkes has written a fabulous story about the creatures of the rainforest set to the tune of "Over in the Meadow," and has conveniently even included the music to the tune in the back of the book.  (One play through on the piano to figure out the melody and reading this story became even more fun!)  Count your way from one to ten, meeting different jungle animals and their young along the way.  There are so many things I love about this book, I hardly know where to begin.  For starters, I adore books that teach me something new.  There are so many fun and unique animals in this story, and even a little write-up about each one in the back of the book that provides even more information about their lifestyles and habits.  Did you know that honey bears and kinkajous are the same animal?  Or that marmosets are only 7-12 inches tall?  Or that leaf-cutter ants fertilize the leaves they bring back to their colony with saliva and then eat the fungus that grows on it for food?  Yeah, neither did I... until I read this book.  Now my son knows all about poison dart frogs and morpho butterflies ("They are a beautiful blue!"), ocelots and sloths.  He often asks me to sing him this song as he's falling asleep at night or when we're just driving around in the car.  What better endorsement could you ask for?  Believe it or not, though, my favorite part of this book actually might not even be any of the things I've already mentioned, but rather the illustrations.  They are AMAZING!  I'm talking seriously fabulous in every way.  Artist Jeanette Canyon created all of the imagery for this story out of relief sculptures of textured polymer clay.  There is a little write-up about her process in the back of the book -- another cool bonus!  The colors are vibrant and her attention to detail is incredible, making this one of the most creatively illustrated books I've ever seen.  Berkes has her own little featured page at the back of the book, as well, which offers ideas for other activities that you can do with your child while reading this story.  This is another book I love to give as a gift.  Check out your library to see if they have it, or better yet, get a copy of your own.   You won't be disappointed!