Publishers Weekly
02/01/2021
“Zonia lives with those she loves in the rain forest,/ where it is always green and full of life,” begins Martinez-Neal (Alma and How She Got Her Name) in this un- flinching look at the changing Peruvian Amazon. Barefoot and wearing a yellow dress, brown-skinned Zonia sits with her mother and nursing baby brother. “Every morning, the rain forest calls to Zonia.// Every morning, Zonia answers.” In wispy mixed-media art that includes linocuts on banana bark paper, Martinez-Neal introduces Zonia’s friends, the animals of the Amazon—blue morph butterflies, river dolphins, sloths, and more—who interact with the child in their shared home. (“You are my favorite,” she whispers, nose to nose with a coati.) As Zonia heads back to her mother, though, she receives a new call from her beloved forest when she stumbles upon a place where the trees and undergrowth have been destroyed—only stumps remain. Further supporting this striking look at the way environmental destruction disenfranchises Indigenous communities, back matter contextualizes the final images and, alongside material about life in the Amazon, includes a translation of the text into Asháninka. Ages 4–8. Agent: Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
This book isn’t just about the Peruvian Amazon, it literally is the Peruvian Amazon: Its illustrations were created on paper made from banana bark by women living in the village of Chazuta. Its delightfully impish main character is Asháninka, the area’s largest Indigenous group. . . . But what truly makes it stand out is its message of self-determination: These Indigenous people, Martinez-Neal has written, are “not saved but take charge.
—The New York Times Book Review
In her first solo project since her Caldecott Honor–winning Alma and How She Got Her Name (2018), Martinez-Neal presents a tale that is both celebratory and cautionary in nature. . . Martinez-Neal’s rounded, soft-textured illustrations are wonderfully inviting and involve linocut and woodcut leaves and fronds printed on natural banana-bark paper. Amid these varied greens, Zonia shines in her marigold tunic, as do many of the warmly or brightly colored animal friends she visits; young readers will enjoy finding the blue butterfly in every spread and learning the names of the rain forest creatures, which are identified in the back matter. The text is kept to two short sentences per double-page spread, reflecting Zonia’s uncomplicated and innocent view of the world, which is shaken when she stumbles upon a large section of clear-cut forest. This scene is Martinez-Neal’s call to action for her readers.
—Booklist (starred review)
Zonia, a young Asháninka girl living in the Amazon rainforest begins her days with a walk through the lush forest and greeting all her animal friends. . . On her way home, the young Indigenous girl stumbles upon a patch that has been a victim of deforestation. Frightened, she decides she must answer the call to protect her home. . .This beautiful look at a young girl’s life and her determination to save her home is a perfect read for young environmentalists.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
In Juana Martinez-Neal's Zonia's Rain Forest, super-cute critters are out in full force. . .A girl who lives in the rain forest begins each day by greeting her animal friends in this exuberant picture book crowned with an environmental message.
—Shelf Awareness
In wispy mixed-media art that includes linocuts on banana bark paper, Martinez-Neal introduces Zonia’s friends, the animals of the Amazon—blue morph butterflies, river dolphins, sloths, and more—who interact with the child in their shared home. . . Further supporting this striking look at the way environmental destruction disenfranchises Indigenous communities, back matter contextualizes the final images and, alongside material about life in the Amazon, includes a translation of the text into Asháninka.
—Publishers Weekly
A young Asháninka girl in the Peruvian rain forest enjoys exploring her surroundings—until one day she sees something that frightens her. . . Sweet illustrations done on handmade banana-bark paper depict a spunky and happy brown-skinned child with high cheekbones and long black hair flying in the wind.
—Kirkus Reviews
The illustrations are made with woodcut prints and drawn with ink and pencils on homemade banana leaf paper. They are gentle, joyful illustrations with a blue butterfly following Zonia throughout the story. The end of the book includes information on the Ashaninka people and lists threats to the Amazon rainforest.
—School Library Connection
Zonia and her family are Asháninka, members of the largest Indigenous group of the Peruvian Amazon. When she notices a deforested area in her beloved rainforest, she pledges to act to protect her home.
—TODAY online
School Library Journal
★ 02/01/2021
PreS-Gr 3—Zonia, a young Asháninka girl living in the Amazon rainforest begins her days with a walk through the lush forest and greeting all her animal friends. Martinez-Neal describes Zonia's carefree life among the unique species that surround her and call to her in sparse words, and soothing shades of green and earth tones that are full of texture. In her bright yellow dress, with sparkling eyes, terra cotta–colored skin and long, straight black hair, Zonia is vibrant and her curiosity is infectious. On her way home, the young Indigenous girl stumbles upon a patch that has been a victim of deforestation. Frightened, she decides she must answer the call to protect her home. The book includes back matter that will appeal to older readers and is well suited for classroom use on the Asháninka people, facts about and threats to the Amazon rainforest, as well as information about the animals Zonia encounters. VERDICT This beautiful look at a young girl's life and her determination to save her home is a perfect read for young environmentalists.—Monisha Blair, Rutgers Univ., NJ
Kirkus Reviews
2021-03-02
A young Asháninka girl in the Peruvian rain forest enjoys exploring her surroundings—until one day she sees something that frightens her.
Zonia is Asháninka, the largest Indigenous group living in the Peruvian Amazon rain forest. “Every morning, the rain forest calls to Zonia. / Every morning, Zonia answers.” Following a blue morpho butterfly, she greets the sloths; sings with the birds; says hello to a band of coatis; rides on a jaguar; watches Amazon river dolphins swim by; congratulates a giant anteater with new babies; sits on a giant lily pad as a caiman floats nearby; and even hangs upside down side by side with a boa constrictor. Sweet illustrations done on handmade banana-bark paper depict a spunky and happy brown-skinned child with high cheekbones and long black hair flying in the wind. Zonia’s life as portrayed here feels beyond idyllic—cartoonishly so, if not for the quality of the art. Abruptly, after her sequence of delightful encounters, Zonia comes across a section of the forest that has been clear-cut. Frightened, she runs home and tells her mother the forest needs help. When her mother tells her the forest “is speaking to you,” Zonia declares, “We all must answer”—and the book ends. With no buildup or explanation, the last sentence carries no emotional weight. The real substance of the book is in its backmatter. There, readers will find the story translated into the Asháninka language by Arlynder Sett Gaspar Paulino, information on the Asháninka and the Amazon rain forest, and the names of the animals depicted in the story. A Spanish edition, La selva de Zonia, publishes simultaneously.
An important environmental message obscurely delivered. (Picture book. 4-8)
