Even though most people don’t live close to a rainforest, these areas are important to the way everyone lives. This book explores rainforests by continent so that readers can compare the plants and animals of India, Africa, and South America. It details how people survive in these areas, how rainforest products are used in daily life, recently discovered species in these areas, and what will happen to the Earth if the rainforests are destroyed. Each page has multiple high-color photographs to help showcase what happens in these places. A glossary at the end can be used for vocabulary words that readers are unfamiliar with. It also includes a free digital book about monkeys so that interested readers can keep learning about this subject.

This is an encyclopedia-like book to help younger students get an introduction to the rainforest. The information is very basic and the text and images are large, making it a good resource for younger grades who are confident in reading but don’t need a lot of information. Because of its simple nature, older readers are likely to want more information and will not like the small amount of detail. Readers can get an overview of what happens in the rainforest, but because the information is so simple it is possible to read the whole book and still feel like not much knowledge has been gained. For younger readers, this book can be a great resource to learn about this interesting topic, but older readers might want to find a different resource in addition to or instead of this one. ( )

Summary: This book is all about rainforests, and the creatures that live in them. There are plenty of pictures and descriptions of animals, plants and insects. The pages have a lot going on, but it isn't hard to find the information you are looking for.

Personal Reaction: I love pictures of cute animals and the rainforest of the world have plenty of cute animals. I think there is plenty of information for children to learn.

Classroom Extensions: 1. I would use this book along side others about the animals and plants and insects of the rainforest. Then we could create a class research book about rainforests. 2. There are a multitude of words that I could use for a rainforest word wall. The children can find words that they want to add, then they can write it down and draw a picture. ( )

This book shares many similar characteristics as the book Bugs by the same author, Penelope Arlon. Both are from the Scholastic discover more series. Both have beautiful photographs. In fact the photos are the absolute highlight of the book in my opinion. Also, both contain some strange and unusual facts. Both contain a unique Hall of Fame section that treats plants and animal record breakers as works of art. Both begin with a two page spread. Bugs begins with a two page spread telling the reader how to use the book. Rainforest begins with a two page spread telling the reader how to use the online companion book. The pictures are bold and in your face. Many are sensationalized, but all are beautiful. I found that I had the same issues with the online portion of this book as I did with Bugs. In this case, I could not access the features from either my computer or my iPad. Both had locked me from access. This book will appeal to elementary students, middle school students and high school students. Lesson ideas include a science class on rainforests, and an informational resource class. ( )