The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest (Rise and Shine)

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Look at the front cover of the book. How many different animal species can you see? How are they similar / different? Summary: The man in the story travels through the rain forest and wants to chop down the great kapok tree. Many animals that live in the rain forest come over and whisper to him, to not cut down the tree. The animals remind the man that the tree is apart of their life and some of the animals live in the tree. Thet kapok tree sheds all of its leaves during the dry season. During the dry season, the seeds are also blown into open areas. Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. Make a glossary of words related to the rainforest. Can you find some examples in the book? Could you write definitions for the words?

Create a weather report for the rainforest. How would it compare to a weather report for the place where you live? No one notices the jaguar “because his spotted coat blended into the dappled light and shadows of the understory.” Can you find out about other animals that use camouflage?

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The flowers of this tree are a primary source of nectar and pollen for bats and honey bees. The tree produces white and pink flowers. During the night, with an unpleasant smell, these tree flowers attract bats and other insects, which are its greatest pollutants. The tree is native to Mexico, Central America, and northern parts of South America. Kapok is also native to the Caribbean tropical West Africa and is found throughout the neotropics. The ability of the kapok to attract wildlife to the forest is one of its most notable physical characteristics.

Rich word choice once he wakes up to emphasize perceptual change (i.e. sun streaming through canopy; glowed like jewels; dark green forest; dangled in the air; steamy mist) It is believed that some kapok trees live for as long as 300 years, making them one of the longest living trees in the plant kingdom. Kapok trees are common trees cultivated in Western countries like Central America, Mexico, South America, and some areas in West Africa. Augh! You can make a case for this perfectly good message without being patronizing about it. You can make a case for the message without cramming it down the reader's throat. You can talk about these things without having each animal coming to him brimming with exposition. She's a great artist. I would say she's not that good of a writer. It's the equivalent of drawing diagrams of everything. You don't need to spell it out. When you do that, it becomes uninteresting to read. The person who's reading it feels like you're talking down to them. They feel like you're saying you're better than they are. Nobody wants to read a book like that. I don't want to read it again, and I don't want to read it to my kids. I can't imagine a child being interested in anything beyond the pictures. Kapok tree seeds, including the oil, contain malvalic and sterculic acid. So, the consumption of oil derived from kapok seeds is discouraged if the cyclopropenoid acids are not chemically removed. Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong. Sponsorship & Advertising Policy

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We have been discussing the kapok tree, its habitat and seeds, and so on. Now, let us explore a few more facts. The pictures in this book contribute to the beauty of this story. They provide a real warmth and positive connection between the words and environment. The kapok is an emergent tree found in dry and gallery forests. You can also find some species in secondary forests. This book still rather annoyed me, though, following a bit too close to one of the lines that I find extremely afrustrating in much of the conservation literature, etc. Namely, that the "Bad Guy" is the one who cuts down the trees (or hunts the wildlife, or...)and--that's it! rather than going the extra distance to show that, well, WHY is he cutting down the trees!? It's not just for fun. Is it that he is greedy? Well, perhaps. Or perhaps he is simply trying to provide for his family who might otherwise starve as native ways of life fade and industrialism creeps into all corners of the globe. And, further, would he be cutting down the trees if there was not a market for the wood or land--perhaps we should look deeper, to someone else down the line, all the way down the line, to the end-consumer??? These books do not reach far enough!!! Now, I'm not saying that I don't buy new things--I'm certainly not as "green" as I want to be--but I do try to be aware of how much I'm buying, from where, and what the impact may be if I'm not sometimes buying used or buying from sustainable sources. I think that environmental-message books for kids do a disservice to them if they simply stop at showing a South American man (dressed in "Western" clothes) attempting to chop down a Kapok tree... Make the children aware of their place in all this (or, at least, their parents' place) and this will give them also a greater sense of empowerment. I mean, as a kid I always though, well, gosh, OF COURSE I want to save the whales, of course I wouldn't cut down trees, of course I wouldn't hunt elephants! But, I didn't really realize how I could do anything about it until I started to talk it over with my parents. Cecilia Goodnow. "It's just Lynne Cherry's nature to get out the word on protecting the environment". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. September 25, 1995. C1.

Make a diorama / model of the rainforest, showing the different layers of the forest and the plants and animals that live there. Our free poster gives more information about rainforest layers.Romans, Dorothy Jennifer (2013). The siren of syzygy: A textual hermeneutic study of the embrace of the anima/animus in Yucatec Maya culture as seen through the myth of La Xtabay (Thesis). pp.6, 11, 43–47, 60. ProQuest 1461758952. It’s a simple, but powerful read and I love this book! I would use it as part of a rainforest, environmentalism or author’s purpose – persuasion thematic unit. It really is versatile and could be used for various reasons. We could use it to study geography and culture (related to South America,) as well as animal’s habitats and biomes. This could lead to further research on additional plants and animals as well. We’d also explore topics such as recycling and going “green” in an attempt to help save the planet and talk about the importance of the rainforest and flora and fauna around us. It would culminate in writing a persuasive piece, as the students attempt to argue a point using evidence. It’s also good for discussing point of view as we can identify Cherry’s POV on the environment and what strategies/ techniques she uses to display her voice. We could study additional texts, including nonfiction, as well to round out the unit. The book could be turned into a play if time allowed. The book mentions a child from the Yanomamo tribe. Can you find out about tribes living in the rainforest? How do their lives differ from your own? How might they be similar? BBC Earth News) "Sacred plants of the Maya forest", 5 June 2009 accessed 12.25 on February 10 2021. Thoumi, Gabriel (3 July 2014). "A children's book inspired by murder: the 25th anniversary of 'The Great Kapok Tree' ". Mongabay.