AMAZON BOY

The author of When the Rivers Go Home (1992) returns to Brazil for a look at the mouth of the Amazon, as seen by a boy whose father takes him from their jungle home to coastal BelÇm as a birthday excursion. Paulo and his father travel downriver on a small steamer, see fishermen selling their catch in the city's harbor, and admire a huge filhote, a species endangered by overfishing. After wandering the market, they set out for home, the father commenting sadly on the thoughtless depredation of forest and river. Lewin rounds out his simple story with Paulo catching a valuable filhote and letting it go; but the most persuasive part of his nicely understated message is his art. The lovely, fluid, double-spread watercolors draw the reader right into the shadowed jungle, the river's blue-green reflections, the market's bustle. A book whose plea is especially effective because it simply states the facts—and shows the river's beauty. (Picture book. 5-9)