Zonia's Rain Forest

This book isn’t just about the Peruvian Amazon, it literally is the Peruvian Amazon: Its illustrations were created on paper made from banana bark by women living in the village of Chazuta. Its delightfully impish main character is Asháninka, the area’s largest Indigenous group. And its Peruvian-born author provides an Asháninka translation of Zonia’s story at the back. (The book is also available in Spanish.) But what truly makes it stand out is its message of self-determination: These Indigenous people, Martinez-Neal has written, are “not saved but take charge.”

Oh my goodness, Juana Martinez-Neal is one of my absolutely favorite illustrators. The love she pours into each illustration is evident to the reader. In this book, I was transported to the Amazon and to the Ashaninka people, an Indigenous people group of the Peruvian Amazon. Bringing the stories of indigenous people to light is SO important. As is it also important to highlight who we have a duty to protect lands that are quickly being torn apart.

I cannot sing praises of this book enough. AND there is a translation for the Ashaninka people in the back. Bringing a voice to those who don't have one....this I love

Zonia, an Indigenous Asháninka girl who lives in the Peruvian Amazon, goes about her day in the rain forest, following a blue morpho butterfly and encountering many other animals as well, from a two-toed sloth to a coati to a pink Amazon river dolphin. On her way home, though, she encounters an area of the forest that has been cut down. She tells her mother, "The forest needs help!" and promises to answer the call.

Back matter includes more information about the Asháninka people, facts about the Amazon, threats to the Amazon, and a visual list of "Zonia's Friends" (all the animals and plants she encountered), as well as selected sources and resources.

See also: We Are Water Protectors

I'm sorry. There is plenty of back matter, including a translation of the text. The theme is tremendously important. But I don't find the book appealing (and neither does my inner child) and the bad science of riding on a jaguar or sloths hanging out together bothers me. I just can't rate it higher.

1.I read this book in Spanish and it would be a great book for beginning Spanish speakers as well as early elementary students.
2.This book goes through the stidry of a girl named Zonia who lives near the Amazon rainforest. She loves playing with the animals and making friends with them. However, on the way home one day she sees deforestation happening and she gets mad and upset and tells her mom about it. Then at the end of the book there is a message saying we need to same the forests.
3.This book is a good book and I would recommend this to be in the classroom. One of the only things I didn't really like about the book is the color scheme of the illustrations and how they seemed to be quite muted and darker colors. But other than that show more the book was great. show less

So beautiful and so so sad.