cover image Journey Through a Tropical Jungle

Journey Through a Tropical Jungle

Adrian Forsyth. Simon & Schuster, $16 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-671-66262-2

Tropical forests cover only six percent of the Earth's surface, but are home to two-thirds of all the species of plants and animals on the planet. Forsyth, a biologist, takes the reader on a trip to the Monteverde Reserve in Costa Rica as he writes about the abundantand increasingly threatenedplant, animal and insect life of that magnificent rain forest. In the entertaining first-person narrative, the author recalls his encounters with sloths, golden toads, toucans, army ants and many more forest inhabitants; he draws the reader into the wonders of a tropical jungle. But while the accompanying photographs, many of which were taken by professional photographers, are skillfully executed and of gift-book quality, they do not display the personable style so prevalent in the text. And very few photos are captioned, which decreases their impact. Despite these flaws, Forsyth's book is an informative and accessible introduction to the fast-disappearing tropical jungles. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)