Reviewed by Olvin Abrego Ayala
Review Source: Teaching for Change
Book Author: Jan Brett
The Umbrella is a visually appealing children’s book that accurately portrays the rich diversity of plant and animal life in Costa Rica and Central America. Jan Brett’s beautiful illustrations of the Monteverde Cloudforest bring the story to life and make it an engaging read. The book is recommended with a caveat because it follows a common trend in books about Costa Rica, which tend to focus on the “exotic” tropical paradise for tourists while ignoring the country’s culture and people. The only human characters in the book are Carlos and his dad, who, despite appearing to be native to Costa Rica, could be replaced by foreigners without affecting the story.
Olvin Abrego Ayala interned with Teaching for Change during the summer of 2024. Salvadoran-born and Honduran-raised, he is an undergraduate student at Dartmouth College majoring in Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies with a focus on Central American Studies. He co-leads his school’s first Central American Club, CAUSA, and is a student researcher for the Central America Project.
Find recommended titles on our Central America booklist.
The Umbrella by Jan Brett
Published by Penguin on February 17, 2011
Genres: Central America
Pages: 36
Reading Level: Grade K
ISBN: 9780399255403
Review Source: Teaching for Change
Publisher's Synopsis: Jan Brett's New York Times bestselling picture book The Umbrella has all the rollicking fun of the woodland animals that crowd into a mitten in the snow in The Mitten. Only this time it's in a lush cloud forest as one by one, tree frog, toucan, kinkajou, baby tapir, quetzal, monkey, and jaguar crowd into an open, upside down banana umbrella until a tiny hummingbird lands and they all fall out.
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