Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: Jungle

  • Sleepy the Sloth

    Sleepy the Sloth

    Sleepy is a Sloth and his family go back a very, very long time, 35,000 years to be exact; which is a very many great, great, great ,parents over the centuries.  The problem now is the Sleepy and his family are beginning to get very worried about the world they live in, the rainforests of South America, a place that humans are slowly changing from forest to farming. If this destruction of the rainforest  keeps on happening, they will no longer have a home and become extinct, like so many of their friends who used to live in other rainforests of the world.

    Sleepy and his family are amazingly different animals and can live as long as 46 years and his cousins can live up to 30 years; they love to hang upside down, which for them is the best way to be, and have a very important role to play in keeping the rainforest healthy.

    Sleepy and his family introduce themselves to you in this lovey book filled with great photographs of Sleepy and his friends, as they go about their daily work in their rainforests.

    There are two and three toe sloths with big long claws, which help them as they live upside down! That’s right upside down and they can move their heads like an owl, which allows them to see everything going on around them. They move very slowly and curl up in a ball so they can sleep in the fork of a tree, just like koala’s do when they sleep during the day. They love to eat hibiscus flowers and only go to the toilet once a week!

    Sloths have funny little faces but love to smile all the time, look really cute but are very strong and because it rains a lot where they live their fur often grows algae, making them look slightly green, but also acts a great raincoat.

    Jan Latta, a noted wildlife photographer and author, has created a series of books for children on endangered species, which will help them understand the dangers to wildlife species. The last few pages of the book has a facts page, a ‘ Did you Know’  section, how to create your own Sloth book, a wonderful maze puzzle and a list of sites to find out so much more.

    Bright and colourful with easy use of language Sleepy the Sloth is a lovely way to introduce young readers to wildlife conservation and the importance of the environment.

  • The Explorer

    The Explorer

    Four children board a small plane leaving the Brazilian jungle, each with a different destination. Fred is in his school uniform, a young girl with long blond hair is looking very uncomfortable and the other two, a brother and sister who had said a long goodbye to their parents at the airport.

    Fred is fascinated by flying and watches every move the pilot makes from his position in the cockpit of the plane.

    As the flight wore on the pilot, a rather older man with a grey waxed moustache became ill, turning as grey as his moustache, coughed, fought to breathe but managed to switch off the plane’s engine before he died.

    The plane crash-lands in the Amazon rainforest, leaving the four children frightened and stranded and so begins a wonderful adventure that has Fred struggling to come to terms with the fact that the others seem to think he should know what to do in this dire situation.

    Fred has always wondered what it would be like to be an explorer, an adventurer, but always thought it would be something he could find out once he grew up, not right now, lost in the Brazilian jungle!

    Once the shock wears off the children decide to camp for the night and try and sort something out in the morning, which was a plan that seemed pretty safe to them all. Once the morning arrived they began to realise no one would come looking for them and they really did have to work together to get out of the mess and out of the jungle, which turned out to be a very tall ask indeed!

    Setting off on what appears to be a reasonably clear pathway, they soon come to realise that perhaps they are not alone, perhaps there has been someone here before them, and that if this is the case, all they have to do is follow the pathway and things will be alright. Or so they thought!

    As the journey continues into the unknown each of the children has to learn to face their fears and work together, to overcome what turns out to be some horrendous situations, before they can find their way home.

    Katherine Rundell has created a wonderful, totally enjoyable adventure, with a touch of Dr Doolittle, Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones in the mix, which has great appeal, as well as addressing some of the issues faced by all children as they grow into adulthood.