SAVE MY RAINFOREST
by Monica Zak & translated by Nancy Schimmel Runnerström & illustrated by Bengt-Arne
An earnest but graceless account, based on fact and first published in Sweden in 1989, of the campaign by eight-year-old Omar Castillo to save his country's last rain forest. Omar and his father walked the 870 miles from Mexico City to the capital of the state of Chiapas to petition its governor; on their return to Mexico City, they camped out in front of the President's palace for several days until he agreed to see them. Despite promises to the contrary from both officials, destruction of the rain forest continued. This well-intentioned piece about an important subject might have made a fascinating story—if only it had not been buried in wooden prose, murky illustrations, and cheap production. Map; brief glossary. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 7- 10)