The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest

Rating:
Summary: Activism disguised as children's literature
Review: Beautiful, wild places inspire and I love to introduce this concept to young children who are so very sensitive to the beauty around them. Children love to produce images of a world butterflies, rainbows and flowers. Lynne Cherry uses this love to capture and intrigue children in her book about The Great Kapok Tree set in the heart of the Amazon rain forest.

Ms Cherry is an author and illustrator of children's books who has a sensitivity for ecological issues. In The Great Kapok Tree she presents a jungle teaming with life. A man tires as he begins cutting the great tree down with an ax. He tires and sleeps. While he sleeps the animals come out of the rain forest to give him a lesson about the importance of the tree. Snakes, monkeys, butterflies, parrots, toucans, frogs jaguars and sloths all give him a pitch. Each tree is important in the rain forest.

Lynne Cherry's illustrations are gorgeous, green and so alive. Her inspiration was the Amazon rain forest which she traveled to and sketch while researching this book. Each page impresses the reader with the lushness and beauty of the region.

While it may seem that the concept of ecology is a bit sophisticated for a four year old it is important to remember that our early values shape our lives. It is my hope that the children of today will have of deep love of nature that will inspire them to take the necessary care of the earth ion their future.

This book is a wonderful gift to a child. I have read it to children numerous times and they are always mesmerized by it.

Rating:
Summary: The Dream
Review: Beautiful, wild places inspire and I love to introduce this concept to young children who are so very sensitive to the beauty around them. Children love to produce images of a world butterflies, rainbows and flowers. Lynne Cherry uses this love to capture and intrigue children in her book about The Great Kapok Tree set in the heart of the Amazon rain forest.

Ms Cherry is an author and illustrator of children's books who has a sensitivity for ecological issues. In The Great Kapok Tree she presents a jungle teaming with life. A man tires as he begins cutting the great tree down with an ax. He tires and sleeps. While he sleeps the animals come out of the rain forest to give him a lesson about the importance of the tree. Snakes, monkeys, butterflies, parrots, toucans, frogs jaguars and sloths all give him a pitch. Each tree is important in the rain forest.

Lynne Cherry's illustrations are gorgeous, green and so alive. Her inspiration was the Amazon rain forest which she traveled to and sketch while researching this book. Each page impresses the reader with the lushness and beauty of the region.

While it may seem that the concept of ecology is a bit sophisticated for a four year old it is important to remember that our early values shape our lives. It is my hope that the children of today will have of deep love of nature that will inspire them to take the necessary care of the earth ion their future.

This book is a wonderful gift to a child. I have read it to children numerous times and they are always mesmerized by it.

Rating:
Summary: A modern fable about preserving the great rain forests
Review: Lynne Cherry traveled to the Amazon rain forest in Brazil to research her illustrations for "The Great Kapok Tree," a fable that will introduce children not only to the rich fauna of the rain forest but to the issue of conservation. A young man is ordered to chop down a great Kapok tree. But it is hot and so he become weary and lies down to rest at the foot of the great tree. When he falls asleep the animals of the rain forest come to him one by one and bed him not to destroy their home. Each animal that whispers in the ear of the sleeping man tells young readers another reason why the rain forest is important. Cherry's paintings are lush, full with rich detail and an abundance of color. The front and end pieces include a map of the Tropical Rain Forests of the World bordered by dozens of animals. Students will have fun trying to match the animals in the paintings with their correct names by using these pages as a guide (especially all the different butterflies and tree frogs). I agree, "The Great Kapok Tree" is a marvelous opportunity to teach students about the ecology of the rainforest and the interdependence of all living things.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful pictures with a beautiful message.
Review: My son and I love this book. We received it as a prize at an Earth Day celebration and have gotten a lot of use out of it. I love the beautiful pictures and my son loves it when I make up voices for each of the animals. I feel good about reading this book to him, because the message is clear. We live on a planet with many cultures and many other living creatures. We should respect that. I have gone out to check out other books by Lynne Cherry and love them all. But The Great Kapok Tree remains my favorite.

Rating:
Summary: Save Our Rain Forests!
Review: 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:
Summary: The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest
Review: This book is a magnificient view of how the rainforest works together as a complex community, yet is made simple to bring that message to young children. The big book version is wonderfully filled with detailed pictures that children love to see. I recommend this book to any parent or teacher trying to teach environmental awareness to their children and students. It get the children excited to see what else is out in the world and try to do something before it vanishes, just as the animals tell the man the rainforest community will vanish if he chops down the Kapok Tree.

Rating:
Summary: The Amazing Rainforest
Review: This is a book that explores the destruction of the rainforest, in a way that is easy for children to understand. The way the story is told and the beautiful illustrations make this an engaging and excellent book. When I read this book to my 2nd grade class, they become totally engaged! I hghly recommend this to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Activism disguised as children's literature
Review: 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.