Walk the Rainforest with Niwupah

Informative, packed with interesting facts and trivia, this series is a useful addition to most book collections. The aim of these books, written by biologists and conservation professionals, is to fill children with wonder for the world around them. And they succeed to a large extent.

In the book about the wet, warm rainforests of India, readers are guided by a Great Indian Hornbill named Niwupah. They wander among the tall trees, peer at the tiny fungi which transform the trees' litter into nutrients in the soil, watch the dung beetles that scurry around rolling neat little balls of dung and visit a hornbill nest in the hollow of a tree.

The children are also introduced to environmental issues -- the rapidly shrinking rainforests, and the fact that many species of birds and animals are consequently in great danger of extinction. This book brought out in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund comes with activities, interesting maps and quizzes.

Admittedly, the writing could have been livelier and the material is somewhat patchy. 

All in all an interesting, eye-opening read. I