The+Great+Kapok+Tree

//The Great Kapok Tree// by Lynne Cherry Reading level: Ages 4 and up Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (March 15, 1990) Language: English ISBN-10: 015200520X ISBN-13: 978-0152005207
 * Reviewed by: Jamie DuLac **
 * Bibliographic Data: **

**Author Biography:** Lynne Cherry is both an author and an illustrator. She has written and illustrated over thirty award winning books for children, and //The Great Kapok Tree// is one of her best-sellers! She is the founder and director of a non-profit organization called //Young Voices for the Planet// which is an organization dedicated to helping environmentally-concerned people. Lynne Cherry’s books are inspired by her love for the environment and the world. Shewas born in January 5, 1952 in Philadelphia and she attended Tyler School of Art and Yale University. //The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest// is one of the most successful of Cherry’s works that deal with the natural world. []

**Summary:** //The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest// is a beautifully illustrated book that tells the story of a man who is beginning to chop down the kapok tree. The man becomes exhausted after a few chops from his ax, so he lies down and falls asleep beside the tree. While he is asleep, the many different animals of the rainforest come to whisper in his ear. These are the animals that live near the great kapok tree. As they whisper in his ear, they beg the man not to chop down this tree and destroy their world. Each animal (sloths, jaguars, snakes, butterflies, bees, etc) and the little boy give the man a reason why they want the tree to stay. They talk about a world with no trees, no beauty. Finally the man awakens and sees all of these creatures and the boy standing near the tree. He then walks out of the rainforest. This book explains the ecological importance of saving the rainforests.

**Book Review:** I loved this book and would definitely use this in the classroom for environmental lessons. This book sends an incredible message to students of all ages which is we need to save places like this because there is much more that is involved in the process. We need to think about what we are destroying because it could be an animal’s home, a place for other animals to find food, an important source for living, etc. This is something that needs to be taught in schools. The environment is our home and we need to take care of it because it can affect our future. //The Great Kapok Tree// paints a clear picture of what Cherry is trying to say. Conserve the rainforests. The illustrations that Cherry provides really are incredible and wonderful to look at as you read this tale of the Amazon rainforest. Lynne Cherry also provides her readers with a note at the end of the story. She talks about the purpose for writing this book and how we should help to save the rainforest and all who live in it. I thought that this was a very thoughtful and heartfelt ending to a wonderful story.

**Analysis of Literary Elements:** <span style="color: #29c328; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">The illustrations in this tale are what make the story. As the man awakens and sees all of the animals and the little boy, Cherry adds so much feeling to the illustration. You can actually see how the animals feel about what this man is doing to their environment, and you can also sense how the man is feeling as he looks at all of these creatures around him fighting for this tree. “The man awoke with a start. Before him stood the rain forest child, and all around him, staring, were the creatures who depended upon the great Kapok tree. What wondrous and rare animals they were!” (24) Her words are touching and her illustrations are even better. Cherry really captures the hearts of all of her readers with thoughtful words and beautiful pictures. There really is so much feeling incorporated into the illustrations of this story.

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