The Great Kapok Tree

 

Book: Cherry, L. (1990). The great kapok tree: A tale of the Amazon rain forest. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Reader Response: This story is quickly engaging and easy to follow because it is a children’s book. It does not require a high lexile level, and is beautifully illustrated. Any student should be able to pick up this book, and understand the central themes in the book, which are organism interdependence, and rainforest preservation. This advanced concepts are taught through a short story, and students can quickly pick up on the main idea.

Evaluator Response: This book would be great to use as part as a mini-lesson on biomes, environmental preservation, or interdependence. It is quick and to the point, so it would not take up a lot of time in class. However, this book is not deeply scientific, and is at a relatively low lexile level for middle school aged students. This book should be taught in conjunction or as an introduction to deeper levels of thinking about environmental preservation, and is not an in-depth enough resource to be used on its own.

Teacher Response: As a science teacher beginning a biomes or environmental resource unit, I would certainly use this book to hook students in. The characterization of different animal species gives students an introduction to the types of organisms and plant species that live in the rainforest, and how they depend on each other for survival. This book explains that concept of interdependence in a simple way, which is important because that can often be difficult for students to understand.

            I would not suggest this book to a student to include in any independent study on deforestation or interdependence because of the nature of it being a fictional story. It would not be considered academic enough to be used in research of any kind, but more to give students an overview of environmental threats to the rainforest.

            If I had a student interested in this story, I would direct them to watch the BBC documentary Planet Earth: Jungle, narrated by David Attenborough. This documentary is interesting enough for middle-school aged students, and is scientific enough to be a more legitimate resource material. Students will find the concepts in The Great Kapok Tree will be discussed at a higher level in this documentary.

Literacy Coach Response: I think as a literacy coach, I would recommend this book be used to read as a full class as an introduction to an environmental unit. This will hook students in and get them invested in the human aspect of environmental preservation. I would also have it included in a classroom library for my lower level readers, but would encourage students not to use it as an academic reference.