In the Jungle, page 4
Tropical rain forests have layers. The layer created by the treetops is called the canopy. This layer covers the rain forest like an umbrella. The canopy gets most of the sunlight, and most of the rain-forest animals live there. The canopy keeps the rain forest cool.
Some very tall trees, like the one that Andrew and Judy climb, stick up through the canopy. These especially tall trees make up the emergent layer of the rain forest.
The area between the canopy and the forest floor is called the understory. It gets much less light. Bushes and ferns and young trees are found there.
The forest floor gets only a tiny amount of light. Whatever falls to the ground—dead leaves, dead animals, poop—is quickly eaten by insects and other animals. These things disappear so fast that they never release their nutrients back into the soil. That’s one reason why the soil doesn’t contain much food for plants. Another reason is that the huge amounts of rain wash away the nutrients in the soil.
Platypuses may be the strangest animals in the world. A platypus is a furry mammal with a flat bill like a duck, webbed feet, and a wide, flat tail that stores fat for the winter. And they lay eggs! Platypuses and echidnas are the only mammals that lay eggs.
Platypus eggs are sticky—they stick to the fur on their mother’s belly. When the eggs hatch, the baby platypuses hang on to their mother’s belly fur and drink milk.
The only places where you can find platypuses and echidnas in the wild are Australia and some nearby islands.
When scientists first saw a platypus that was stuffed and sent back to England, they didn’t believe it was a real animal. They tried to find stitches to prove that it was sewn together from the parts of many different animals!
WHERE TO FIND MORE TRUE STUFF
Would you like to find out more about weird and wonderful rain forests? Here are some books you might enjoy:
Afternoon on the Amazon by Mary Pope Osborne (New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 1995). All rain forests are different. Read this book if you’d like an adventure that includes the piranhas, jaguars, and flesh-eating ants of the South American rain forest.
Rain Forests by Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne (New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2001). This is the nonfiction companion book to Afternoon on the Amazon. It’s full of great facts about the rain forest and tips for even more research.
One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest by Jean Craighead George (New York: HarperTrophy, 1995). Rain forests are mysterious places that are home to many plants and animals that haven’t been discovered. Yet large areas of rain forests are destroyed every year. This book tells the story of how one boy helped save his rain forest and why it’s worth saving.
One Small Square: Tropical Rain Forest by Donald M. Silver (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998). If you want to see great pictures of what lives in every layer of the rain forest, look for this book. You’ll also find amazing facts, fun activities, and easy experiments.
Australian Animals by Caroline Arnold (New York: HarperCollins, 2000). Did you know that penguins live in Australia? Can you imagine what a thorny devil looks like? And what is a quoll? In this book, you’ll find great pictures and facts about some absolutely amazing Australian animals.
Platypus by Joan Short, Jack Green, and Bettina Bird (New York: Mondo Publishing, 1997). You’ve got to see what a platypus looks like! You’ll also learn about how they live along the riverbanks in Australia.
National Geographic: Really Wild Animals— Totally Tropical Rain Forest (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1994). If you can’t hop a plane and visit a rain forest right now, get your hands on this videotape!
Turn the page
for a sneak peek at
Andrew, Judy, and Thudd’s
next exciting adventure—
ANDREW LOST
IN UNCLE AL
Available July 2007
Excerpt copyright © 2007 by J. C. Greenburg.
Published by Random House Children’s Books, a division of
Random House, Inc., New York.
NYEEEEEEEEEE …
Andrew Dubble, smaller than a speck of dust, flopped onto his Uncle Al’s wrist.
Ga-nufff … ga-nufff … ga-newww … Judy snored.
With one hand, Andrew clutched the collar of Judy’s jacket to keep her from falling off Uncle Al’s wrist. With his other hand, Andrew clung to a hair.
Nyeeeeeeeee …
The sound was close by. A mosquito, thought Andrew.
NYEEEEEEEEEE …
Then Andrew made out what looked like the hairy bud of a flower with a long stem.
At the other end of the stem was a horrible face. Two large black eyes covered most of it like a helmet. Hairy antennas stuck out from under the eyes.
The bud-shaped thing was zooming down toward Andrew and Judy. Suddenly it opened and slammed down over them.
Eek! squeaked Thudd. “Mosquito snout! Called proboscis.”
Andrew and Judy were squashed between two walls with razor-sharp edges!
“Mosquito gonna bite!” squeaked Thudd.
“Androoooo?” Judy said sleepily.
“Jeepers creepers!” said Andrew. “You’ve been asleep for a long time!”
Judy rubbed her eyes. “Where are we?” she asked. “Where’s Uncle Al?”
Before Andrew could answer, the blades inside the snout started moving. They were sawing into Uncle Al’s skin!
Andrew sniffed a coppery smell. Blood! he thought.
Eek! … “Mosquito snout gonna push Drew and Oody inside Uncle Al!” squeaked Thudd. “Drewd got Schnozzle?”
Andrew pushed a hand into his pants pocket. He pulled out two pairs of black goggles with noses attached and mustaches underneath. He handed one pair to Judy.
“Put on the Schnozzle!” said Andrew.
“This isn’t Halloween!” Judy yelled.
meep … “Quick! Quick! Quick!” said Thudd.
The blades of the proboscis were sawing a hole in Uncle Al’s skin. Andrew and Judy were on the very edge. A blade caught on Andrew’s jacket and pulled him into the hole.
“Yowzers!” hollered Andrew.
“Aaaaaack!” yelled Judy, tumbling in after.
Just as Andrew was hooking the earpieces of the Schnozzle behind his ears, a blasting spray drove him down and down. Before he could scream, Andrew disappeared under Uncle Al’s skin.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents
either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2007 by J. C. Greenburg
Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Jan Gerardi
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House
Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks and A STEPPING
STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
ANDREW LOST is a trademark of J. C. Greenburg.
www.randomhouse.com/kids/AndrewLost
www.AndrewLost.com
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
www.randomhouse.com/teachers
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Greenburg, J. C. (Judith C.)
In the jungle / by J. C. Greenburg; illustrated by Jan Gerardi. —
1st ed.
p. cm. — (Andrew Lost; 15) “A Stepping Stone Book.”
SUMMARY: Lost in an Australian rain forest, Andrew, Judy, and Thudd
the robot, who are still the size of insects, must evade rhinoceros
beetles, tarantulas, flesh-eating plants, and a host of other threats as
they make their way toward the village where Uncle Al will meet
them.
eISBN: 978-0-307-53250-3
[1. Rain forests—Fiction. 2. Robots—Fiction. 3. Cousins—Fiction.
4. Australia—Fiction.] I. Gerardi, Jan, ill. II. Title. III. Series:
Greenburg, J. C. (Judith C.). Andrew Lost; 15.
PZ7.G82785Iot 2005 [Fic]—dc22 2006003446
v3.0
J.C. Greenburg, In the Jungle
