Khashoggi, Nabila and Illustrated by
Cadag, Manuel Spartan and the Green Egg: A Trip to the Rainforest 59 pgs. Full Cycle Publications, 2013. $13.89. Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature
Content: G; Violence: G.
When Spartan
tells his best friends about a book that teaches them how to communicate with
aliens, they decide to give it a try. Not only does an alien egg appear in
their tree house, but it communicates with them. It takes them to the Amazonian rain-forest, where they meet Amazon Natives, learn about logging and
deforestation, and help to turn things around.
I had high hopes
for this large glossy educational graphic novel. But one thing I am really
picky about, especially with genres outside of historical fiction, is
terminology. This book features Amazon Natives, but refers to them twice as just
Indians. Worst of all one of the kids jokes that the Indians might boil them
for dinner. Also these Amazon Natives are portrayed as extremely stereotypical Pocahontas
style Native Americans. I am all for opening students eyes to the dangers of
logging and deforestation of these precious rain-forests, but when they solve
the problem purely with Alien magic (isn't that just handy?), it just doesn't work for me at all.
EL –NO Reviewer:
Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.
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