Product Description

Imaginations will soar from the forest floor, up through the canopy and back down again, following the circle of life in this clever adaptation of the song, The Green Grass Grew All Around. The jungle comes alive as children learn about a wide variety of the animals (jaguars, emerald tree boas, leafcutter ants, sloths, poison dart frogs, toucans, and bats) and plants (kapok trees, liana vines, and bromeliads) living in the lush Amazon rainforest. Delve even deeper into the jungle using sidebars and the three-page For Creative Minds educational section.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #200002 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Booklist
Large, brilliantly colored paintings offer close-up views of plants and animals in the rain forest, and the main text revises the lyrics of the traditional song, "The Green Grass Grew All Around," adapting the words to feature a rain-forest setting. The use of generic names for the animals makes singing easier, with phrases such as "And by the frog / there sat a bird . . . / the funniest bird / that you ever did see. / The bird by the frog, / and the frog in the plant, / and the plant by the sloth . . ." Meanwhile, accompanying sidebars extend the lyrics with information and better identify some of the animals: the bird is a toucan, the frog is a poison dart frog, and the ant is a leaf-cutter ant. The appended activities section offers matching games and a recipe for cookies using ingredients that originate in the rain forest. Teachers looking for a rain-forest book that invites participation will want to sing this one aloud, as they share the striking illustrations with their classes. Phelan, Carolyn

About the Author
Susan Mitchell is an author with many hats in her collection: author, mom, wife, pre-school teacher and Spanish teacher. Susan loves creating a silly world of words for kids. Surrounded by kids all day, every day, Susan has no shortage of story ideas. While using the song, The Green Grass Grows All Around, in her preschool class, she saw the excitement her students had learning about life cycles in a fun medium. "They grew gigglier and more out of breath as the song grew longer and longer," Susan said of her students. Since the rainforest is one of the most complex ecosystems on our planet, she knew she could make it fun to learn about too. The lives in the Amazon rainforest are so intertwined that the song made a perfect background to teach children about the fragile circle of life. So she created a story that grew higher and higher, building on each plant and animal that resides in the endangered rainforest until the end becomes the beginning again! In addition to this book, Susan is the author of Stone Pizza, a picture book based on the Stone Soup tale. A member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Susan writes regularly for a variety of children's print and online magazines: Hopscotch Magazine for Girls, Boys' Quest, Wee Ones Magazine and Guideposts for Kids Online (GP4K). She also writes monthly for Houston magazine, Style & Living. Susan, her husband, two wonderful daughters, their dog, two new kittens, and a very cheeky beta fish live outside of Houston. She also really needs a bigger hat rack!

Customer Reviews

The Rainforest Grew All Around
This is an excellent book for learning about the rainforest. I used this book in a special education summer school program during our rainforest unit. The book piggy-backs the song "The green grass grew all around"- and is easy to sing along with. There is information in the back of the book that increases understanding of animals and plants for older learners. Additionally, there is a rainforest cookie recipe at the back of the book that is delicious!

bought it for the artwork!
I saw the artist Connie McLennan's work online and heard about this book from her website. It is a beautiful book! The writing is perfect for a beginning reader as well. It's a nice story.

I bought it for my granddaughter who is a budding artist- I thought she would love the pictures as much as I do!

A Mom's Choice Awards Recipient!
The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.