Along the Tapajós

Interesting Topic, Lacking Execution

Life along the Tapaj??s seems fascinating from the few glimpses offered by this book, and I definitely appreciate the effort to expose children to different cultures and locales through literature, but sadly there just isn't enough substance here.

The text is sparse and doesn't fully explain certain concepts it brings up. It has children talk of ‘playing with alligators' while their boat is portrayed as being surrounded by the beasts and even has a child go up against an anaconda! Not only that, but a mother is portrayed as nearly callous, unsympathetic about her children's concern for a lost pet who cannot swim and got left behind in a flood. Certainly, that's hyperbole and not actually how things work - even in the rainforest. No mother would lack the empathy required to at least acknowledge how sad her kids are, even if she feels the conditions are too dangerous to go back for the pet. But those are some of the very few glimpses we're given of life in this locale, which may lead to confusion and a lack of proper understanding - perhaps even a negative viewpoint, depending how strongly the kid reading (or being read to) feels about animals and loyalty to pets.

Worse, there isn't really much of a story. This book reads more like a child frantically hopping from point to point, attempting to tell impatient adults about their day. The ending isn't an ending at all, the middle suddenly time skips, and the whole thing is over too fast. Even the information at the end - presumably aimed at adults - is too brief to be of much use and serves more as an inspiration to consult Google than an actual source of education.

The main thing this book has going for it is the art, which has a charming ‘folk art' feel to it and reminds me of an old Brothers Grimm fable book my grandma had. Hopefully it can spark curiosity in young minds, but I do wish that it stated more of that curiosity as well.

This book was on an old Kindle and I have no idea why I got it. It was cute though and I enjoyed the artwork as well as the story. I can't imagine living some place where you had to travel by boat everywhere you went. I wish the text was larger. I had to get out some reading glasses to be able to see it.