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Title: The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry ISBN: 0-15-202614-2 Publisher: Voyager Books Pub. Date: 13 March, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.42 (19 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Children's Environmental Literature Classic
Comment: This is a beautifully illustrated fable of interdependence in the rain forest. As a teacher, I use this story to teach about ecosystems here at home. Even though it is appropriate for younger children, I read it to my outdoor school students (5th-6th grade) on the day we study ecosystems to help them understand the inter-relationships we see and study in the field. I like to bring the story to life by giving the animals special voices (lots of hissssing for the snake, chattering for the monkeys, squawking for the birds, etc.) At first the students laugh and are amused by the voices, but when the tree frogs talk about ruined lives and being left homeless, they begin to get more serious, and by the time the sloth asks "How much is beauty worth? Can you live without it?" they are fully engrossed. After reading the story, I send the students out to find a "magic spot" to do a writing assignment: write their own story of "The Great ______" substituting a plant they have learned about during their week at outdoor school for Kapok Tree.
The only thing I don't like about this story is that students, in their black and white morality, sometimes only take home the message that "it's bad to cut down trees." I like the book "The Gift of the Tree" because it doesn't have this morality tale aspect, and "Just a Dream," because it places responsibility on each of our shoulders, not just "someone" like the tree cutter in this story. But I use this story in conjunction with those others and discuss this issue with the students. This is definitely a classic in Children's Environmental Literature!
Rating: 5
Summary: Save Our Rain Forests!
Comment: The Great Kapok Tree is a beautifully illustrated story that effectively addresses the issue of endangered rain forests. While a woodcutter is taking a nap by a kapok tree, the animals of the forest try to persuade him not to cut down the tree. Even though the animals talk, their arguments are realistic. When the woodcutter wakes up, he looks at the beauty and wonder of the plants and animals. The illustrations ae vivid and colorful, and their beauty gives the message more meaning and importance. I highly recommend this book to be used wth children of all ages as a tool to teach the importance of rain forest conservation.
Rating: 1
Summary: Activism disguised as children's literature
Comment: While beautifully illustrated and highly imaginative, The Great Kapok Tree is a heavy-handed attempt to create environmental activism in young, impressionable children. It is utterly one-sided, and places the welfare of animals above that of humans. At no time is the human story told. Instead, the "right" side of the issue (the politically correct side) is presented as the only possible way to think. It attempts to place on the shoulders of children the responsibility for "saving" the rain forest. Saving endangered species, environments, etc. is not the job of children.
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Title: Here is the Tropical Rainforest by Madeline Dunphy ISBN: 0786812125 Publisher: Hyperion Press Pub. Date: 15 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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Title: A Walk in the Rainforest by Kristin Joy Pratt, Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafini ISBN: 1878265539 Publisher: Dawn Pubns Pub. Date: March, 1992 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: Nature's Green Umbrella by Gail Gibbons ISBN: 0688154115 Publisher: Harpercollins Juvenile Books Pub. Date: 24 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest by Jean Craighead George, Gary Allen ISBN: 0064420167 Publisher: HarperTrophy Pub. Date: 30 September, 1995 List Price(USD): $4.25 |
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Title: A Teacher's Guide to a Walk in the Rainforest (Teacher's Guide) by Bruce Malnor, Carol Malnor, Kristin Joy Pratt ISBN: 1883220742 Publisher: Dawn Pubns Pub. Date: May, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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