Save the rain forest so I can run away from home

Jane Craighead George's classic children's book My Side of the Mountain has fueled many daydreams well past my Wonder Years. Spring break ended, and I wanted to go live in a hollow tree and live off the land instead of going back to work. I would need Sam Gribley's librarian to help me research falconry, that's for sure!

I'm using Jan Brett's gorgeous new picture book, The Umbrella, in most of my classes this week. A red-eyed green tree frog makes a good introduction to complementary color schemes. While a boy climbs up a gigantic fig tree in the cloud forest, an assortment of animals pile into his leaf umbrella, reusing Brett's Mitten formula. I'm having trouble reading about the kinkajou. Half the time "kinkajou" comes out "cockatoo", and the other half it comes out "Pikachu".


My condominium complex is embroiled in its latest brouhaha (not a rain forest animal, but possibly an itchy tropical rash). The fight is about a tree, and whether to cut it down or save it. It's a nice tree, but not big enough to live inside when I run away from home.