Here Is the Tropical Rain Forest (Web of Life, 1)

This will be an excellent addition to my various aged classroom library. My students always love to hear new read-alouds.

Rain forests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6%. The world's rain forests are currently disappearing at a rate of 6000 acres every hour. As an avid birdwatcher I have been fortunate enough to have spent some time in parts of the Amazonian rain forest and have marveled at it's beauty as well as it's diversity of wildlife. It is extremely important that children understand the importance of this essential ecosystem since they will be the ones effected by it's absence or it's survival. "This Is the Tropical Rain Forest" is one of the Web of Life series of children's books and it's goal is to do exactly that.In this book we are introduced to the ecosystem (the rain forests of Central and South America as used as examples) and it's inhabitants one species at a time as well as learning about how they interact. The repetition of the prose will help with the children's retention while reinforcing the interdependence of the plants and animals that inhabit this environment.I have several of the books in this series and the artwork in "Here Is the Tropical Rain Forest", by Michael Rothman, is my favorite. The detail in the reproductions of his original watercolors are better than some field guidebooks that I have owned. The animals are portrayed in realistic poses and settings.At the end of the book is several pages that give more detail about the ecosystem and it's plight. I have given my copy of this book to a local elementary school and they were thrilled to have it and will be using it while they introduce the children to the world's different ecosystems, including the all important rain forests.DISCLAIMER: Although I was not paid for this review, I did receive the book for free from the author in the hope that I would review it. Thank you.

Here is the Tropical Rain Forest is a delightful book to introduce the American Tropics to children. The story by Madeleine Dunphy follows a food web from figs to harpy eagles and jaguars. The illustrations by Michael Rothman are outstanding.