laurashrti's Full Review: Lynne Cherry - The Great Kapok Tree
One thing I'm constantly trying to (gently) drill into my stepson's head is respect for all creatures and earthly things. I don't see him very often (only every other weekend), and since we share a love of reading I try to reiterate my ideals through sharing books with him. One such recent gem was The Great Kapok Tree, written and illustrated by Lynne Cherry.
The book begins with two men venturing into the Amazon Rainforest. At the direction of the "bigger" man, the younger man begins to chop down a huge Kapok tree, while many of the rainforest's natural inhabitants look on curiously and fearfully. After only a few swings he tires of the work and in the warm environment, he quickly falls asleep. As the young man slumbers he is visited by residents of the great rainforest, one by one.
First, a gigantic boa constrictor slithers down to the man, whispering to the ax-man about the tree he chops, the tree the snake calls a home. He begs the man not to chop it down. Nicholas, my stepson, knows I am terrified of snakes (and he sure likes to rub it in) so this caught his attention immediately. The snake's visit is followed by visits from butterflies, who explain that all living things depend upon one another. Next are a troupe of monkeys, another eye-catcher for Nicholas (a monkey himself): they describe how the earth is held together by tree roots, keeping the forest from drying up and turning into a desert. A trio of birds approach the napper and describe to him how in their overhead flights they've seen the destruction such kapok-chopping has caused. The next visitors are a clan of frogs (who also scare the daylights out of me, and Nicholas loved this page as well) who tell the young man how his actions cause many rainforest-dwellers to become homeless. The next visitor caused quite a bit of excitement for Nick and I: a jaguar comes face to face with the sleeping and thus fearless napping ax-man. He tells the man that without the tree many would be homeless, thus causing him to be food-less! Some tree porcupines follow telling of the oxygen that the kapok tree would no longer produce, if it were to be chopped down. A bunch of (cute!) anteaters follow, explaining that everything has a consequence, stating that "the big man tells you to chop down a beautiful tree. He does not think of his own children, who tomorrow must live in a world without trees." (This is a line straight from the author's heart.) Nicholas laughed when next, the narrator (me, of course) slooooowwwly interpreted the three-toed sloth's simple but meaningful input: if the ax-man takes away the trees, he's taking away beauty. Last, the sleeping man is visited by a young boy from the Yanomamo tribe who simply asks the man to wake up and look at everyone and everything with new eyes.
After his string of visits and whispered messages, the man wakes up surrounded by the animals and the boy who approached him during his nap. He stares at them in awe, and with new eyes he appreciates the animals, the tree, the way the sun shines through the thick forest, and the plants all around him. He stands up and lifts his ax...
... and you must read this to a child you want to instill a love of nature in yourself to find out the ending.
Lynne Cherry has illustrated each and every page with full-color, amazing images that easily draw the eye to the action, but that also let your eyes wander over all the details. Each page and every scene is encased in thick rainforest trees and plants. The animals are drawn so that, if you know anything about rainforest-dwellers, you can tell exactly what they are. Younger eyes (like Nicholas) can pick out the significant features of the animals and ask questions about them. The plants are thick and luscious and the color brings them and the animals to life. My favorite illustration in the book is near the end, where all the animals have gathered and the ax-wielding man has woken up. The variety of animals (even those who didn't approach the man with whispers and requests!) and plants reminds me of when I first began learning about the rainforest and its importance. Nicholas and I had fun looking at all the details. While he was uninterested in this, I really enjoyed the inner front and back covers of the book, which showed a map of the world showing where it's rainforests are. There was a section that showed each layer of the rainforest, and bordering the map were several rainforest animals and their names.
Lynne Cherry has an immense love for the natural world and for teaching children to appreciate it. Having written over 30 "award-winning" books, she's done more than her share of educating our children about nature, it's future, their future and what they can do to help preserve and save our world. One of her recent projects (that I admire very much) is a search for schools that can be prototype green schools. Many schools have green things about them (gardens, wetlands, etc.) but she wants to help schools achieve the most they can to not only preserve the earth but to educate children on how they might do the same. I mentioned in my review of this wonderful book that the sloth tells the kapok-chopper that the man who has instructed him to destroy the rainforest hasn't considered his own children's future, where they might not have the beautiful trees and animals that dwell within.
In this day and age, our world is depleting at an incredible pace, but thankfully, people are finally becoming concerned. Could these be the people who once read Cherry's books? Has she gotten through to enough of our past's future citizens to make a difference? I certainly think so.
Take the time to read one of Lynne Cherry's books to a youngster you care about. It may make a world of difference.
Other works by the author: A River Ran Wild Where Butterflies Grow The Sea, the Storm, and the Mangrove Tangle Flute's Journey Chipmunk Song
This inspired look at what the Kapok tree means to the creatures that live in it - and what rain forests mean to the world's ecology - was at the fore...More at HotBookSale
In this inspired look at what the kapok tree means to the creatures that live in it--and what rain forests mean to the world s ecology--the many diffe...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.