The Great Kapok Tree
By Lynne Cherry
1990 Picture Book
Incredible illustrations tell the story of a man walking into a tropical rain forest to cut down a tree. What he didn’t’ realize was that the tree was home to many, many creatures. As he sat down against the tree to rest, he fell asleep. While asleep the animals of the forest came to his ear to whisper all of the reasons he should leave the tree alone as the Great Kapok Tree was their home. As the man awoke he was startled by sight of the boa, the butterflies, the monkeys, the toucan, the tree frogs, the jaguar, the porcupines, the anteater, the sloth and the young boy from the village all advocating for the Great Kapok Tree.
I used this story in a reader theatre for my 3rd graders. It was so wonderful. I had just finished my unit on Human Effects on the Environment and their homeroom teacher had just moved into a Rain Forest Unit. The story blended both together very well, prior knowledge and building background. I loved it!!
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