The Most Beautiful Roof in the World

April 1, 1997
Gr 5-8-Meg Lowman is a scientist who has spent years studying the rain forest canopy. Lasky and Knight join her in the treetops of Belize to record the wonders of plant and animal life found more than 100 feet above the ground. Yet, this book is not simply another chronicle of rain forest ecology, although the exceptional full-color photographs document with clarity the teeming life to be found there. Lasky also explains the methods scientists use to conduct research in this environment, sometimes under extremely difficult circumstances. For example, to gather leaf samples in Cameroon, Lowman had to hang over the edge of an inflatable raft suspended beneath a dirigible. In Belize, she uses walkways high above ground and, for the first time, allows her young sons to join her in the canopy. The long hours the scientist devotes to her work are not minimized, but her love for her research is evident. Her story might encourage young women considering science careers. Lowman's reading to her sons at bedtime from Treasure Island and her private ruminations about Harriet Tubman seem a bit forced and extraneous, but they shouldn't discourage anyone from purchasing this unusual and effective book.-Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN

Starred review from April 1, 1997
Gr. 3^-5. Lasky's unusually vivid introduction to the rainforest follows biologist Meg Lowman into the canopy to look at plants and animals. The director of research and conservation at a center in Florida, Lowman travels with her two young sons to a rain forest site in Belize. There she and her assistant climb into the canopy and perform their experiments. They inspect leaves eaten by insects, look at "ant gardens" in the treetops, and observe the activities of various insects and animals and their effects on plant life. Later, the scientist takes her sons on their first trip to the canopy and then for an evening nature walk on the forest floor. The narrative approach to nature study can be tedious, but Lasky's writing creates scenes and relates facts in ways that are vivid and memorable. Every page of this large-format book features colorful photographs that reflect the you-are-there quality of the text: long-range views of the forest, close-ups of individual species, and many pictures of Lowman and her sons, which have a natural, unstudied look. Fresh in outlook and intriguing in details, this book will strengthen any library collection on the rainforest. ((Reviewed April 1, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)