599.53

599.53

There are many ways a teacher could use this book in a 10th grade biology class. It could also be used in middle and elementary school science. This book could be introduced when doing lessons on evolution and ecology. The author elaborates on the specific biological and ecological factors that have contributed to the evolution of the pink dolphins and many other organisms in the Amazon Basin. She tells the story of her time spent at the Rainforest Lodge located in the Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo Community Reserve in Peru. She tells the story as if you, the reader, are the one that is living it. She describes her many canoe rides in the Amazon River during the rainy season in search of the pink dolphins, also referred to as encantadoes. She describes the dolphins and other organisms of this place as potentially magical, I guess to keep younger audiences intrigued with the story. She describes her observations with great detail as if the reader is making them. The observations are suggested scientifically, ethically, and in awe. With good reason, the author evidently loves the Amazon. I considered her to be authoritative enough on the information she presented because she made this observations on her own. Sometimes I think she over-simplified the information a bit too much, possibly assuming that the reader leaves a very sheltered life. There were also a few grammatical errors, but not many. One instance she used the incorrect term “poisonous” instead of the correct word “venomous” when describing the beloved bushmaster viper. Although her overall style of writing was good. I could see how a child would be intrigued by this book.
She included other perspectives of the encantadoes and life forms in the Amazon. She interviewed humans that live on the river in houses that float, she interviewed a local biologist that studies the dolphins, and she interviewed a paleontologist that was staying at the lodge doing research. The author did a beautiful job at demonstration the dinosaur times of the region with illustrated diagrams and maps. She also presented a wealth of information of conservation of the rainforest.
She gave credit to all the humans that she interviewed and provided additional descriptions of the Amazon in the back of the book, such as statistics, organism characteristics, and additional resources.

Beautiful photos, but the text is a bit dull. ( )