Books on the Rainforest and Jungle

I am trying to share texts that tie into Social Studies and Science each week.  This week for my Science related texts, I chose books related to the Jungle and Rainforest.  I have had this stack of books from the library for like 3 weeks, so I am glad to finally have time to sit down with them.

On a side note, many of you are familiar with Accelerated Reader.  If you are not, it is a program that many schools participate in where students take computerized tests over different books to test comprehension.  I no longer will be at a school that utilizes AR, but I do like to still use AR Bookfinder.  AR Bookfinder allows me to search a book title to get an idea of the book level of a book and the interest level.  These can be helpful tools if you are trying to determine if a book might be the right level for your students.  At the same time,  I do not always agree with the AR book level, but I still find it a useful ballpark.

1) Over in the Jungle by Marianne Berkes
 This book is written in rhyme and describes animals who live in the jungle.  The pictures are very vibrant.  Students of all ages would enjoy this as a read aloud.

2) Rainforests by Nancy Smiler Levinson
 This is an easier nonfiction read on the Rainforest.  This would be a great choice for 1st and 2nd grade readers.

3) Defying Death in the Jungle by Gary Jeffrey
 This is a graphic novel. This book begins with a more nonfiction jungle survival section and then has the graphic novel story. It is an adventure story with some historical context. I would have this book in my room for my students who like graphic novels while we were doing a unit on the Rainforest. 

4) Amazon Boy by Ted Lewin
This is a realtively simple read, but it could lend itself to some interesting discussion.  It is about a boy who lives deep in the Amazon and travels to a market town.  He comments on the things he observes.  His father gives him reasons he is saddened to see changes to the Amazon River.  You could use this book as part of a discussion on responsible use of nature and balancing progress with preservation.

5) Rainforest by Edward Ricciuti
This is a pretty straight forward nonfiction text on the Rainforest.  There are plenty of similar books.  Essentially, if you are studying the rainforest, it would be helpful to go to the library and check out a stack of nonfiction books on the rainforest or jungle for students to explore on their own. You can find these books at the library in the Juvenile Nonfiction section under 577.

6)  A Walk in the Rainforest by Kristin Joy Pratt
 I like that this book begins with a world map and illustrates where in South America the rainforest is.  I like this book a lot.  It is a nonfiction ABC book on the Rainforest.  I believe students of all ages might like this book.

7)  Rain, Rain, Rainforest by Brenda S. Guiberson
This book is very descriptive and would be great to integrate figurative language.  This book has some great examples of onomatopoeia.  I think I would follow this book up by having students write some poetry related to the rainforest.