Kate Duke - In the Rainforest

For Sidney, always
K.D.

The artist used pen and ink, watercolor, liquid acrylic, pencils, and pastels
on Arches watercolor paper to create the illustrations for this book.

The Lets-Read-and-Find-Out Science book series was originated by Dr. Franklyn M. Branley, Astronomer Emeritus and former Chairman ofthe American MuseumHayden Planetarium, and was formerly co-edited by him and Dr. Roma Gans, Professor Emeritus of ChildhoodEducation, Teachers College, Columbia University. Text and illustrations for each of the books in the series are checked for accuracy by anexpert in the relevant field. For more information about Lets-Read-and-Find-Out Science books, write to HarperCollins Childrens Books,195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007, or visit our website at www.letsreadandfindout.com.
Lets Read-and-Find-Out Science is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.
IN THE RAINFOREST. Copyright 2014 by Estate of Kate Duke. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American CopyrightConventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the textof this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in orintroduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known orhereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
EPub Edition 2015
ISBN: 9780062435774
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Revised edition, 2015

Stuff to Bring

Bug repellent
Waterproof backpack, camera, and
pencil (if you want to take notes)
Waterproof box for holding snacks
Extra socks
Binoculars
Magnifying glass

Stuff to
Leave at Home

Chocolate barsthey
melt!
Blue jeansthey take
too long to dry.
Rain bootssneakers
are fine.

Ready for a tour of a
tropical rainforest? Come on
the trip starts here.

In a tropical rainforest, there is no spring, summer, fall, or
winter. Its warm all the time. Theres more rainand also more
sunshinein tropical rainforests than anywhere else.
Plants can grow all year round,
unlike those in forests with
temperate climates, where there
are different seasons.
More plants and more different
types of plants grow in tropical
rainforests than anyplace else on
earth.

How much more rain?

Temperate climates get
2030 inches of rain
a year. A tropical
rainforest gets
TEN TIMES that
muchabout
inches a year.

The forest floor is covered with a layer
of dead leaves and twigs, called leaf
litter. Because theres no winter, most
trees and plants dont lose their leaves all
at once. Instead, they drop a few leaves
all year round. Leaf litter is important. In
the warm, damp rainforest it quickly rots
and turns to compost, which is plant food.
This compost is vital to the forest. Vital
means life- giving. The trees and plants
need compost to grow.

Some leaf- litter critters

The forest floor
may be covered
with dead leaves,
but it is full of life.

Rainforests need
MORE food than
temperate forests.

The layer of leaf litter and
compost- rich soil is only a
few inches deep. With so
many plants, the forest uses
up the food very quickly.

The forest floor is very shady. The plants down
here are called understory plants, because they
are able to grow under taller plants that block
the light. Even without much sun, their leaves
can get very big.

Hey, my sneakers are
still dry. I thought a
rainforest would be
like a swamp.

Nope. The thick layer of leaves
up above keeps a lot of the rain
from getting down here, except
during the rainiest months.

Besides plants, millions of animal species live in
rainforests. Surprisingly few are mammals. Some
of the larger mammals live only on the forest floor
and in the understory. But you probably wont
see them. Theyre hiding from another understory
mammalthe jaguar, the largest rainforest cat.

I dont even see
one mammal!

Keep looking!

But you may not see a jaguar, either. Theyre
hiding, toowaiting to jump out and catch the
other mammals.

Many rainforest mammals are arboreal. That means
they spend much of their time high up in the trees.
You may see them when you put on your harness and
start climbing. . . .

Can you find them?

I want to see
a mammal!

Gulp! This is like
mountain climbing!
looking!

Exactly!
Youll love it!

The part of the forest above the
understory is called the canopy.
Theres more sun up there, and its much
more crowded with plants and animals.
Its not easy to get up into the canopy,
because its so high. Scientists use ropes
and clamps to climb the huge trees.

These vines
are called lianas.
They crisscross the
forest, growing from
tree to tree.

Ive climbed trees
at home, but
nothing like this!

Youre doing
great!

Eek!

Rainforest canopy
trees grow

TALLER

almost
twice as
tall

than an
average tree
in temperate
zones.