When selecting the titles for our Book of the Month program for this school year, we set out to give students books with that wow factor. We place emphasis on selecting books that are not only fun and unique, but that are also high quality. To end this school year, we have chosen a book that is truly one of a kind. Our May Book of the Month, “Zonia’s Rain Forest” by Juana Martinez-Neal, will introduce the first-grade students of Monroe and River Woods Elementary to Zonia, a young girl who is a member of the largest Indigenous group living in the Peruvian Amazon, the Ashaninka.
Printed on paper crafted by women of the Peruvian rainforest, this fantastic book takes readers along with Zonia for her morning trip through the rainforest. With the help of beautifully drawn pictures, they will learn about Zonia’s love for her home and the painful impact deforestation has on young Zonia and her people.