Amazon Adventure

Amazon Adventure

Juvenile nonfiction
"It's the planet's richest ecosystem, where a butterfly's wing
can grow as big as your hand and five hundred species, from frogs to
insects, can be found on a single flower...Jaguars hunt in the shade
of two-hundred-foot-tall trees; pink dolphins, whom the local people
claim have magic powers, swim in the rivers. New species discovered
here in the last decade include a tarantula striped like a tiger, a
vegetarian piranha, and a monkey who purrs like a kitten."
Sy Montgomery, author of Amazon Adventure, is, of course,
alluding to the world's largest jungle which consists of the land
drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries--an area as big as the
United States excluding Alaska and Hawaii. It's called "the lungs of
the world" because it puts out one fifth of this planet's oxygen. But
human economic activities like ranching and mining destroy significant
chunks of it each year.
"Luckily, beneath the glassy surface of its rivers live dozens
of species tiny, beautiful fish whose powers may be even greater than
those of the mysterious pink dolphin or the mighty jaguar. These shy
fish--so small the locals call them all piaba (pee-AH-bah), which
roughly translates to "small fry" or "pip-squeak"--just might be able
to save the Amazon."
You read right. Every year forty million tiny tropical fish,
captured carefully in the wild, are shipped to aquariums around the
world. Amazingly, this is good for the fish. Otherwise during the
dry season many would be stranded and killed. A fish that naturally
might live only a year in its natural habitat may get three or more
years in an aquarium. People who earn their income from this very
sustainable practice aren't desperate for the income from mining,
timbering, and cattle ranching.
But don't take my word for that--not when you can embark on a
voyage of discovery from the comfort of your favorite chair. Discover
the fish and their habitat. Learn about some of the other fascinating
creatures that call the Amazon home. Drop in on an elaborate yearly
festival held in honor of the small fishes.
Amazon Adventure is proof positive that your library card is
your passport to the world.
On a personal note, I am taking it easy (for me) today. Yesterday I
fell. The worst damage is my writing hand is really bruised. (Thank
God no bones broke!). But pain kept me up almost all night until Joey
cat helped me snooze about 4:00 a.m. I started my morning with a long
hot bath. As we say in Mind Spa, self care is important. It's
raining out. You know what April showers lead to.
A great big shout goes out to my best little cat in the world who will
be 15 in a couple of months.
jules hathaway





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