Rainforest | Children's Books Heal

Emily, 10-Year-Old Champion of Rainforest Animals in Need

Cathleen Burnham, Author and Photographer

Crickhollow Books, Nonfiction, Sep. 15, 2018

Series: World Association of Kids and Animals

Suitable for Ages: 7-12

Themes: Global Youth Activism, Nature, Rainforest, Animal Rescue, Baby Sloth, Endangered Wildlife

Opening: High in a tree in a rainforest in Costa Rica, a mother sloth slept, cradling her baby close to her. The mother was sleeping, but the baby was wide awake.

Synopsis:

Meet Emily, a 10-year-old girl, who is active in a youth-led conservation program to save rain forest animals in western Costa Rica. She helps care for an orphaned sloth at an animal sanctuary by taking it for walks along a jungle path and participates in other activities to protect local wildlife and their environment.

When Emily arrives at a local youth program, Kids Saving the Rainforest (KSTR), she and her friends perform a play about teaching tourists to not feed wild animals human food. Bananas and cookies makes them sick. They play is a good way to practice when they encounter tourists. Afterwards, they grab garbage bags and enter the jungle to clean up trash, plastic bottles, gum wrappers and food packages that can make animals sick. They also sponsor blue rope bridges to help squirrel monkeys cross busy roads and stay away from dangerous power lines. Because of their work, the titi monkey populations are growing.

The story highlights the impact young people can have on protecting local wild animals and preserving natural habitats.

Like the earlier books in this World Association of Kids and Animals (WAKA) series (Doyli to the Rescue: Saving Baby Monkeys in the Amazon; Tortuga Squad: Kids Saving Sea Turtles in Costa Rica; and Tony and His Elephants, set in Thailand), the text and photos show a youngster deeply involved in caring for the well-being of baby wild animals in need of shelter, food, and lots of love.

Why I like this book:

Cathleen Burnham’s mission is to find, photograph and celebrate children who are united in a cause to rescue and save endangered wildlife around the globe. Her true and inspiring photodocumentary books are a call to children globally that they don’t have to be adults to make a difference. Emily and the youth of western Costa Rica are passionate young conservationists trying to save rainforest animals through their organization Kids Saving the Rainforest (KSTR).

Burnham’s books inspire and empower children. Every page is filled with rich, beautiful and touching photographs that capture life in the Costa Rica rainforest and shows the delicate ecosystems and the gorgeous endangered species living there, including sloths, birds and a variety of monkeys. She also focuses on the dangers in the town of monkeys trying to cross the streets and shows the young KSTR activists engaged with tourists.

The conservation message is clear and blended into a glimpse of everyday life of child activists who are involved in inspiring small-scale, grassroots animal-rescue efforts. The story shows the impact young people can have on protecting local wild animals and preserving natural habitats.

Burnham continues to show that children can have a real impact on the world around them! Kids are not just the next generations of caretakers of our planet, they also can do things now to make a difference. The WAKA series are stories of kid power — real kids who inspire other kids to empathize with the wild world around them, to see how we are all connected on this planet, and to find ways to make a difference.

Resources: To learn more about the amazing things Emily and other committed children are doing to protect wildlife around the globe, visit the World Association of Kids and Animals (WAKA) and get involved. There is a special teacher’s guide available for classroom use. Make sure you read the Author’s Note about the story behind KSTR and the two nine-year-old girls who founded the organization. Burnham also encourages kids to ask themselves, “What do you care about most? What can you do to make a difference? Is there something you can do in your community?

Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book. To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books (PPB) with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.

*Copy of book provided by publisher.

Rainforest Adventure: A Fun and Educational Kids Yoga Poem Book

Thereza Howling, Author

Luciana Lastre Conceicao, Illustrator

CreateSpace Independent Publishing, Nonfication, March 28, 2014

Suitable for Ages: 2-10

Themes: Yoga for children, Poetry, Rainforest, Imagination

Opening: “Beautiful and vast rainforests have many trees clustered together. Being warm year-round with lots of rain make up for their humid weather.” (Pose: tree)

Book Synopsis: The Rainforest Adventure book was created with the intention of sharing some of the good things that happened during Kids Yoga classes. Much like lessons at school or homeschool, we can adapt yoga poses to any theme we would like. The theme for this book is presented in the form of a poem to keep up with the attention span of the younger kids while also showing older kids that poems can be quite interesting, full of action and color, and ready to come alive! By doing the poses illustrated next to the verses, we can make this little adventure turn into reality, and learn in a fun way.

What I like about this book: Thereza Howling has written a book that teaches children about yoga postures that will help them learn to better focus, tune into feelings and sensations, release stress, and encourage imagination. She has used a rainforest theme and cleverly adapted yoga poses to showcase its many wonders: a tree, waterfall, monkey, snake, lizard, parrot, butterfly, and dolphin. The text is simple, fun and engaging. The double-page spread has a specific pose with instructions on the left side of the page. The right side of the page has colorful and lively illustrations that relate to each pose. This is a very creative effort by the author and illustrator. A portion of the proceeds for the book will go to the Rainforest Alliance, an organization committed to help rainforests all around the world.

Resources: The first page of the book explains how to use the book in a safe way. The end pages offer more ways to use this book that encourage creativity and imagination. There are two sets of eight yoga memory pose cards. Visit Thereza Howling’s website for more ideas for poses within the poems and other activities related to the book. The author is a certified yoga instructor and teaches children, teens and adults in Washington State.