About the Holiday
Established in 2012 by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Wildlife Conservation Day aims to raise awareness of the importance of preserving and protecting the natural world and its inhabitants. The day also brings attention to the disastrous effects of wildlife crime – including illegal poaching and smuggling of animals or animal parts, such as tusks or horns – on animal populations. People are also asked to support the Endangered Species Act, which was signed into law in 1973 by President Richard Nixon. In 2019 the Act was substantially weakened when President Trump reduced regulations, putting many more animals at risk. Today, Wildlife Conservation Day is celebrated around the world by organizations and individuals dedicated to protecting and preserving our natural inheritance – unique places and creatures like those explored in today’s book.
Over and Under the Rainforest
Written by Kate Messner | Illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
A child narrator enters the rainforest with Tito, who is, perhaps, an older brother, an uncle, or a cousin. The sun filters in, glistening on the raindrop-jeweled leaves. Looking up into the treetops and the clear sky from where “chatters and chirps and a howling roars.” The child wants to know what’s above them, and Tito answers that there is a “whole hidden world” that they are hiking under. They hear the “gurgle” of red, black, and yellow oropendolas in their bag-like nests and the “croak” of toucans.
Image copyright Christoper Silas Neal, 2020, text copyright Kate Messner, 2020. Courtesy of Chronicle Books.
They stop on the bridge that crosses a river and look down at the crocodiles napping on the banks. An emerald basilisk has no time to rest, though, and runs across the river, his feet “barely skimming the river’s surface.” The bridge takes them up, into the trees, where capuchin monkeys swing from branch to branch. While having a snack, the child and Tito watch an anteater hunt for a snack of his own below among fallen leaves.
Image copyright Christoper Silas Neal, 2020, text copyright Kate Messner, 2020. Courtesy of Chronicle Books.
The afternoon brings expected rain, which begins as a “pitter-soft drumming on the leaves up above” but “swells to a strong, rushing pour” that soaks a “soggy mother sloth and her baby” while a blue morpho butterfly “folds up her wings and tucks away on a tree trunk.” They walk deeper into the forest, where silent snakes slither and curl around branches. Spying a dark shape in a treetop, Tito, with a roar, unleashes “a thunder of howler monkeys” concealed from sight.
Image copyright Christoper Silas Neal, 2020, text copyright Kate Messner, 2020. Courtesy of Chronicle Books.
Dusk comes and then the curtain of night. Tito and the child head for home, spying animals and insects who are just beginning their day along the way. But suddenly a “sharp snap” in the undergrowth stops the child. Could it be a jaguar? They hurry across the last bridge and see the lights from Abuelita’s house. They know a dinner of arroz con pollo is waiting as the birds return to their homes too and another chorus begins—“a night song of darkness and water and life—over us, under us, and all around.”
Exciting back matter includes an Author’s Note about the inspiration for this book as well as illustrated paragraphs about the twenty birds, animals, and insects mentioned in the story.
Image copyright Christoper Silas Neal, 2020, text copyright Kate Messner, 2020. Courtesy of Chronicle Books.
Lyrical and evocative, Kate Messener’s hike through a Costa Rican rainforest envelopes readers in the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of this mysterious ecosystem. Her well-loved Over and Under series serves as a perfect guide to a place where life in all its forms teems in the lush landscape. Messner’s tranquil and graceful storytelling makes for a lovely read aloud that will captivate readers, and her first-person point of view invites each listener to imagine themselves taking this transformative walk.
Christopher Silas Neal’s soft-yet-vivid matte illustrations capture the mystery and wonder of the rainforest from the first page, where Tito and the narrator head into the forest through a dark entryway that seems to slowly reveal itself as a series of steps leading into the trees. Just as kids would be prone to do, upon entering the forest, the narrator and Tito look up into the towering treetops, focusing the readers’ eyes there too. Neal’s use of a variety of perspectives gives readers an experience similar to the book’s characters and allows them to feel the vastness of the environment. The number of unusual animals, birds, and insects they encounter in this forest will wow kids, and they’ll enjoy searching the leaves, branches, and undergrowth to find what is hidden there. This nighttime scene provides a thrill as bright eyes shine from the trees—the only evidence of the shadowy creatures lurking there.
A beautiful book for any nature lover or child fascinated by the wonders of the world, Over and Under the Rainforest is a must. The book would be a treasured addition to home, school, and public library collections.
Ages 5 – 8
Chronicle Books, 2020 | ISBN 978-1452169408
Discover more about Kate Messner and her books on her website.
To learn more about Christopher Silas Neal, his books, and his art, visit his website.
Wildlife Conservation Day Activity
Fascinating animals are found in every part of the world. Play this fun printable Wonderful Wildlife Board Game to match each animal to the area where it lives.
Supplies
- Printable World Map, one map for each player
- Printable Wildlife Tokens, one set for each player
- Printable 8-sided Playing Die
- Printable Dice-Rolling Guide to Numbers and Animal Tokens
- Colored pencils, crayons, or markers (optional)
Directions
- Print a World Map for each player
- Print one set of 16 Wildlife Tokens for each player
- Print two copies of the 8-sided die, fold, and tape together
- If you would like, color the map and tokens
- Choose a player to go first
- Each player rolls both dice and places an animal on their map according to these corresponding sums of the dice as shown on printable guide
- The first player to fill their map is the winner!
You can find Over and Under the Rainforest at these booksellers
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
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