Summary: Author offers readers a wonderful introduction to the natural history and environment of the Everglades by documenting the studies of a fifth-grade class taught by Ms. Stone in Homestead, Florida. As the children explore Everglades National Park and the nearby Miccosukee Reservation, they discover habitats and the animal and plant life native to these areas. The children also learn how development and pollution have endangered the area's fragile ecosystem and about environmental and government groups that support the Everglades Restoration Plan. Complementing the excellent, informative text are high-quality color photographs and maps. -- Medha Engineer

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6 - Exploring this ecosystem with a passionate fifth-grade teacher from Homestead, FL, and her motivated students provides a very personal understanding of the environment and the impact of development. As the class began its study of the Everglades, four students took a weekend trip to the northern area of the park and explored its history, biology, anthropology, and even politics, as they learned about the past, present, and future of this environment. They went back to school determined to see the Everglades restored in their lifetimes. Then the entire class took a field trip to the area and learned more about its different habitats and began to grasp the wide-ranging effects of farming and development in the wetlands. Rich, informative photographs are filled with life; the children, and the animals and plants of the Everglades are vibrantly depicted, and are paired with a text that includes some difficult concepts and language but is also full of adventure and interest. The maps lack detail but make their points; one shows the boundaries of the Everglades National Park and other areas that surround it, and others show the changes in the flow of water. This photo-essay is a great way to encourage environmental awareness and responsibility in children, and a fun way to begin to explore the wetlands. - Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL
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