One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest

One Day in the...

by Jean Craighead George, Gary Allen (Illustrator)

Today is doomsday for a young Venezuelan Indian boy's beloved rain forest and its animal life—unless he and a visiting naturalist can save it. "George makes drama large and small out of the minute-by-minute events in an ecosystem . . . gripping ecological theater." —C. "An example of nonfiction writing at its best." —SLJ. Notable 1990 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)
Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children 1990 (NSTA/CBC)

Genres: Science, Childrens, Chapter Books, Nature, Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

About the author

Jean Craighead George wrote over eighty popular books for young adults, including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves and the Newbery Honor book My Side of the Mountain. Most of her books deal with topics related to the environment and the natural world. While she mostly wrote children's fiction, she also wrote at least two guides to cooking with wild foods, and an autobiography, Journey Inward.

The mother of three children, (Twig C. George, Craig, and T. Luke George) Jean George was a grandmother who joyfully read to her grandchildren since the time they were born. Over the years Jean George kept one hundred and seventy-three pets, not including dogs and cats, in her home in Chappaqua, New York. "Most of these wild animals depart in autumn when the sun changes their behaviour and they feel the urge to migrate or go off alone. While they are with us, however, they become characters in my books, articles, and stories."

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

So yes, I do really appreciate in and of itself that the presented and featured main character of Jean Craighead George's illustrated chapter book One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest is a Native South American. However, considering how many different ethnic groups do inhabit the rain forests of South America (and that there likely still might even be some as yet undiscovered and not yet contacted tribes) I really do think that Jean Craighead George should be a bit more specific and detailed regarding Tepui's tribal affiliations. Because of course, not all of the native peoples of the South American rain forests would be the same and have the same culture and behaviour patterns and I just find Jean Craighead George’s descriptions of Tepui a bit too generic and kind of like an annoying and frustrating one size fits all.

Furthermore, while the ecological tropical rain forest information textually presented in One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest is most definitely informatively educational enough (with Gary Allen's black and white artwork providing a very nice visual but also not really all that necessary for comprehension accompaniment) and that I also do very much appreciate and celebrate how Jean Craighead George does not shy away from unilaterally condemning massive rain forest destruction (and for whatever purpose), her rather pedantic narrational listing of details upon details and especially her constant focussing on the specific clock times of the day, this has most certainly made A Day in the Tropical Rain Forest rather repetitive and tedious as a reading experience and as such really more like a science lesson to be taught and learned than a to be enjoyed and delighted in story. And indeed, the only reason why I am still ranking A Day in the Tropical Rain Forest with three and not with two stars is simply but truly that I do indeed very much appreciate Jean Craighhead George's intent even if I have found her textual execution as leaving rather a bit to be desired (not to mention that I of course and also do very much appreciate the included bibliography on the last page of A Day in the Tropical Rain Forest, since for me, bibliographies do always appreciatively increase the teaching and learning values of their respective books).

[Jaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea was very interesting and had lots of possibilities. I just didn't like the execution. The author tried to get through a lot of information in "one day". There was no time to develop anything--characters or plot. She skipped around so much I got lost at times, and I'm an adult. I couldn't imagine being a younger reader. The information on the animals was very interesting and I enjoyed reading about them. But this book really lacked a lot for me.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story follows young Tepui as he goes about his day. The day is filled with action, especially when bulldozers threaten to take away his beloved forest. He helps save the day by finding a butterfly no one has seen before, just in time to stop the bulldozers.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tepui has less than 12 hours to find an unknown butterfly to stop the bulldozers that will begin clearing out the rain forest that is his home. Lots of descriptions of plant and animals in the area, and each section starts with the time as it counts down to the end of the day.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars & 3/10 hearts. I appreciated how this book showed me the wonder and importance of the tropical rain forest—although the ants gave me the shivers. There was hardly any plot to the story, but I did like the way it was set up. It was very laid-back, probably a good read aloud for kids. Kind of a boring story, at the time, but looking back I find it not so bad.

[Alison Durbin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was kind of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I think that this book provides a plethora amount of information about the rain forest and many of its creatures; on the other hand, I felt that the story, though somewhat interesting, was underdeveloped. It had a decent plot to work with: two people in search of a "no named" butterfly in hopes of saving the rain forest. Perhaps the story should have taken place over a longer period of time in order to build more suspense (of course that would change the title). I feel that more suspense would give off more of a feeling of urgency, and I would care about the characters more (as well as their mission). I understand that I am probably reading too much into this (no pun intended), but that is my only gripe with the book. Other than that, I felt that this book had excellent information about the creatures in the forest, and its descriptions were well done.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book. There was very little plot. The problem of needing to see a nameless butterfly was solved before we knew it was the problem! The author did little (or possibly no) research on her topic. For example: an animal's Latin name has two parts the first being the specie name, and the second being unique to each animal. When the nameless butterfly was found they RANDOMLY came up with a Latin name!
I don't recommend this book. It is badly written with too much unneeded detail and not enough needed detail.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good for how we used it- to learn about the rainforest in a multitude of ways. It follows the day in the life of a person in the rainforest who is trying to save it from deforestation. It is very dry overall, but when analyzed for learning provides a lot of information on species and resources provided by the rainforest. My son seemed to enjoy it - mostly just because he liked learning about the animals in school etc.

[Linda Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Super short little book that I've been meaning to read for years as it was an AR book that my kids never read and I have loved many of Jean Craighead George's books for years. I came across an audiobook from my library and thought it would be a good time to read it. The book was a bit boring, but had beautiful descriptions of the rain forest. The best part was that the audiobook had some beautiful music accompaniment that went well with the descriptions and action of the storyline.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that the book is ok. I like how the book is based on a boy trying to save his rain forest by looking for a butterfly that has never been discovered. The "doomsday" thing is actually a good catch. Though I wish the book had a little more action. Overall, I thought the book was ok. I would recommend it to a few friends.

[Tanja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Describes a day in the South American rainforest as a young boy, in order to save his beloved rainforest from the bulldozers, must find a butterfly that no one has ever seen yet. Much detail about flora, fauna and wildlife. More of a nonfiction account. (I found it quite boring... sorry...).

[Lindsey Richard]

A diary-based story of a boy who stays in the rainforest. Not only is it a fun story to follow, but it's absolutely full of facts and interesting animals that are in the forest. The text is big and generally easy. There are pictures but they are black and white sketches.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite interesting as a read aloud or an introduction to a Unit Study, but it probably won't grab the average young reader.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is simplistic, 2nd grade maybe, but the vocabulary is much more difficult: bivouac, fecal, noxious... I find it difficult to level this book. Good jumping off point for more research.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading it to help my daughter with her homework. Great description of the rain forest and all the plants and animals. A little anti-climatic at the end.

[Farrah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found out that I don't know as many animal names as I thought...

"The plants and animals of the jungle do not know about human property rights. What space they find is theirs."

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs more substance. More repetition than story line.

[Suzanne Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

She tries to help kids get interested in the tropical rain forest, but this would bore kids.

[Rose]

508.3 Geo

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick, highly descriptive story about a boy's day in a Rainforest in Venezuela. The boy is native to the area and leads a team of scientists through the forest and points out specific animals for their area of study. Ultimately, one of the lead scientists has a goal to find a new species of butterfly so they can protect the area from deforestation and he needs the boy's help to find one. I personally enjoyed how quick the story was and thought that for a children's chapter book it was direct in all the right places. It probably could have focused more on the mission in places and less on the biology side of things. However, I get the impression that Jean Craighead George is more of biology writer just based on other books I've seen by them. I also have a background in biology so I found this book easy to understand and loved how in-depth it went.

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for a middle school reader. I LOVED learning about sloths (who house an entire ecosystem in their algae-coated coats), Hercules beetles the size of baseballs, soldier termites who build nests out of chewed wood and fecal glue, armies of ants capable of killing and devouring a mammal as large as a jaguar.

And Jean Craighead George's gift of imagery is so vividly illustrated in this book. Millions of ants fan out forty feet across the ground "like a river of tar." Thousands of fleeing crickets, kaydids, and beetles "roar like a chain saw." Ants "stir like a pot of boiling water" in their home between rocks, a soldier beetle has a "gunlike snout," the face of a baby sloth looks like a turtle's face (i.e., an animal most children have seen and, thus, can identify with), the mother sloth is "an apartment house" since plants and some ninety little creatures live in her long fur.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the options for my fluency group to read. They ultimately voted against it, as it's a little young for them, but I enjoyed the story. A great story if you are trying to teach your students about writing details.

[Chelsie Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book group book or read aloud if you are teaching about the rain forest and/or ecosystems. Lots of information about the plants and animals living in the rain forest. Jean Craighead George is both a writer and a scientist so she doesn't shy away from some of the harsh realities of nature.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this book last year for school and I have to say it was the worst book I have ever read in my life! Un less you want to be tortured don't read this book!

[Amhveggie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible book!

[Lynn DiFerdinando]

When I was a kid, I LOVED this series. Not entirely certain why. I mean, they're not bad, just. There are other books out there.

[WSL Library]

x2

[Gary Allen]

I illustrated this book, but don't think it's proper to rate one's own books.