Journey Into the Rainforest

by Tim Knight

The tropical rainforest is the home of millions of little known, exotic plants and animals. Unfortunately, many of them are threatened by extinction. Every year, an area of the rainforest the size of Britain is destroyed. Journey into the Rainforest is an adventurous but also educational foray into the heart of the wildest, least explored place on earth.
Tim Knight, a naturalist with a long experience in rainforest conservation, takes young readers on a tour of "the wonderful surprises and hidden secrets" of the rainforest. Paddling upstream in a canoe, taking a bumpy ride in the back of a truck, walking at night to avoid the heat, and flying above the tree-tops in a small plane, we explore the rainforest from its floor up to the canopy and beyond. Our entertaining and knowledgeable guide takes us into the depths of the rainforest, where we encounter egrets and iridescent butterflies, flash floods and mangrove swamps, a blue-banded kingfisher and a "six o'clock" cicada, as well as geckos, barking deer, luminous fungi, moths as big as dinner plates, pit vipers and scorpions, the nibung palm, orchids, termites, and more. We discover that tree canopies form an impenetrable umbrella and that a stick insect can become practically invisible. We learn how to find our way in the forest, how to tap liana stems for water, how animals and plants survive in the forest canopy, and a myriad more things we never imagined before.
The flora and fauna of the rainforest are captured in stunning wildlife photography, while lively, experienced authorial voice guides us on this tour of the "lungs of the planet". A glossary and index conclude the book. A real-life adventure and a hands-on educational tool, Journey into the Rainforest is a feast for the eye and the mind.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195217519
• ISBN13: 9780195217513
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 12.3" x 9.8"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Good generic overview of the rainforest

This is a beautifully done book. Readers are incorporated into a journey into the rainforest where they learn about preparations for the trip, human activities and life in the area, rainfall, life in the different areas of the rainforest, terms, adaptations of plants and animals and more. This book is a good introduction for younger readers and is a refreshing change from some of the other works that outline specific areas of the rainforest (like the layers) and rant and rave about loss of biodiversity. Although the book touches on the important points it provides a good introductory overview and introduces words, concepts, plants and animals for further research.The ending leaves room for futher adventures in a sequel -- or for the teacher to explore with the class. I found this book when looking for texts for a more advanced workshop that I teach. I would recommend it as part of a rainforest curriculum package.