Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I finished Margarita Engle’s Forest World last night, and let me tell you what–there are some random, unusual-looking species in this world.  Not that I didn’t know that in theory, of course, but the concept of ‘Lazarus species’ is central to the plot, and every time another such species was mentioned, I couldn’t resist googling it to see what it looked like.  (I now know that the Lord Howe Island stick insect is also known as the tree lobster–and I’ve seen pictures!)  This made the book a slower read than it would have been otherwise, but it added enough to the overall experience that it didn’t bother me a bit.

Unlike many of Engle’s books, Forest World is fiction–the story of a family divided between Cuba and the United States but united in a fascination with wildlife.  Since relations between the US and Cuba have finally improved, Edver ends up leaving Miami to spend the summer with his father; there he discovers a sister he didn’t know he had and a world almost unbelievably alien to his own.  (NO INTERNET!)  As he and his sister try to reconcile their different experiences and opportunities (and lack thereof), they end up getting more up close and personal with the world of wildlife smuggling and poaching than they ever could have imagined.  The end result is a tribute to the challenges and rewards of family–and wildlife preservation.  (It’s not as didactic as it sounds, I promise–it’s also a tribute to the kind of ingenuity in the face of scarcity that results in homemade handcuffs).  If you or your child is interested in nature, wildlife, Cuba, or poetic-but-accessible verse novels, give this one a try.