I know because I measured. How she does this is one of the intriguing ways this master of children's innovative nonfiction communicates. It's also a reason to see this book in its true form--as a book.
The Amazon rainforest is an overwhelming experience because of its size, the diversity of life and the scope of interdependence between species. Roxie Munro samples its denizens, all of them actual size, from the forest floor up through its main layers: the understory, the canopy, and the emergent layer, which looks like a giant green cauliflower from an eagle's eye or from an airplane. Her glorious art is also a puzzle. Can you find the leaf-cutter ants carrying their oversized loads? When does the anteater start appearing? And for how many pages? What about those legged-animals that don't walk?
The objective of this book is to make children care about this essential-to-the-planet ecosystem. Roxie Munro shows her love of her subject matter with exquisitely detailed and well-researched depictions and selections of representative mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, arachnids and centipedes. You meet each sampling of the animal kingdom through an entertaining, unique attribute that whets curiosity:
"Blue morpho butterflies, like all butterflies, have taste sensors in their legs. They stand on their food and taste with their feet."
The back matter of the book answers readers' questions and has a key to the placement of featured creatures in the lavishly illustrated pages (the answers to the seek-n-find game). Munro explains the layers of the rainforest and the importance of its preservation. And there are lots of references for further study.
Anteaters, Bats & Boas: The AMAZON RAINFOREST from the FOREST FLOOR to the TREETOPS is a book that celebrates life and nature, all wonderfully accessible through the power of art and a discerning author.