Encantado: Pink Dolphin of the Amazon

by Sy Montgomery, Dianne Taylor-Snow (Photographer)

Overview

Welcome to a forest filled with water. In the wet season, the swollen Amazon becomes a looking glass into another world, where pink dolphins swim like something from a dream. In Peru they are called bufeo colorado—the ruddy dolphin. Their color ranges from white to gray to a vivid pink. These astonishing mammals, actually river-dwelling whales, easily navigate their way through the complex, hazardous world of the Amazon rain forest. Encantado invites readers on the adventure of a lifetime as we travel into one of the world’s most lush and beautiful jungles in search of these magical creatures. Our guides include scientists and researchers as well as the local people, who have lived with the encantados—the enchanted ones—literally at their doorsteps for centuries. Our main guides are the dolphins themselves. They lead us into myth. They take us back in time to a prehistoric era. They alone can show us the depth of the Amazon’s beauty, diversity, and magic—and help us to keep our planet rich and whole.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547349664
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	03/26/2002
Sold by:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format:	eBook
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	1,277,946
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Researching films, articles, and 22 books, Sy Montgomery has hiked the Altai Mountains of Mongolia looking for snow leopards, tracked tree kangaroos in Papua New Guinea, and more. A National Book Award finalist, she has also been honored with a Sibert Medal, two Science Book and Film prizes from the National Association for the Advancement of Science, three honorary degrees, and many other awards. She lives in Hancock, New Hampshire. Visit her online at symontgomery.com and on Twitter @SyTheAuthor.     

Hometown:

Hancock, New Hampshire

Date of Birth:

February 7, 1958

Place of Birth:

Frankfurt, Germany

Education:

Syracuse University: B.A., Newhouse School of Public Communications, 1979; B.A., College of Arts and Sciences, 1979

Editorial Reviews

Montgomery has reworked her Journey of the Pink Dolphins (2000) into a book for children. Using the second person and the present tense, she leads the reader on a journey deep into the Amazon, in search of the very elusive pink dolphin, an unusual freshwater breed of dolphins. The bulk of information deals with the animal and fauna of this part of Peru. But woven into the text are the scientific process, storytelling, interviews with experts and residents, and a push for preserving the rain forest. Montgomery's curiosity and enthusiasm is contagious, as she takes the reader along in her quest, maneuvering past potentially harmful plants, insects, and snakes, jumping into the dangerous river, climbing to the top of tree to observe a whole new spectrum of plants and animals, and listening to stories about the dolphins mythical and magical powers. Her frustration at not actually observing many dolphins is palpable; this is tempered by her willingness to explore any avenue that might lead to more knowledge and understanding. Taylor-Snow's photographs are crisply clear and captivating; however their placement does not always match the text on the page¾something often confusing, if not difficult, for youngsters. Since the dolphins are so elusive, Taylor-Snow includes photos of Chuckles, the only pink dolphin in captivity (in Pittsburgh) in North America. Children who pick up this book thinking they will learn about the "boto," as the natives call the dolphins, will be disappointed; but if they stick with the book, they will be introduced to the fascinating world of the Amazon in particular and of scientific investigation in general. Amazon statistics, weird whale facts, a very brief glossary onthe cast of (animal) characters, addresses, books for further reading, and (of course) unsolved questions bring this fine book to a close. 2002, Houghton Mifflin Company,
— Peg Glisson

Children's Literature

Gr 3-7-A stimulating text and vibrant, full-color photographs entice readers on this trip down the Amazon to meet these freshwater rain-forest creatures. Written in second person and in a light, conversational tone, the narrative evokes a magical environment as readers accompany the author and a guide on a voyage to investigate these little-known animals. Different physically and behaviorally from the more common bottle-nosed variety, pink dolphins are hard to observe as they swim low and never leap out of the water. As the adventure proceeds, readers encounter all kinds of plant and animal life, meet a couple of scientists, and learn how observation leads to understanding. They see how children in this part of the world live, hear a folktale about an encantado, travel back through time to discover the animal's ancient origins, and glimpse the future of the Amazon as the forests are destroyed. Spanish and Portuguese words and phrases are occasionally integrated into the text. Hand-drawn colorful maps and a time line illustrate habitat and history, and there are a wealth of features at the back, including an annotated list for further reading, information on making a similar trip, statistics, odd facts, and unsolved mysteries. The author's sense of wonder at this spectacular environment and this unusual animal is infectious and makes for a nonfiction title that inspires as it informs.-Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Once again recasting a recent book for adults, Montgomery (The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans, 2001, etc.) invites younger readers along on a present-tense, second-person expedition to the Amazon, in search of the (as it turns out) elusive fresh-water dolphin. Along the way, she fills in background by visiting a biologist, a paleontologist, and local residents, climbing a tree for a close-up view of a teeming Amazonian arboreal community, and learning about cooperative local and international efforts to preserve the rain forest. She writes with a contagious sense of wonder-mixed with frustration, for though she does find dolphins, all she's able to see of them are occasional flashes on the river's surface. Children will get a better look at this bright pink, lumpy-looking creature, as Taylor-Snow intersperses atmospheric, crisply clear on-site color photos with nose-to-nose shots of Chuckles, a resident of the Pittsburgh Zoo and the only pink dolphin in captivity in North America. Closing with facts, addresses, and an above-average reading list, this will not only leave readers feeling as if they'd been to the Amazon and met one of its odder-looking residents, but well equipped to pursue a newly kindled interest in rainforest conservation too. (index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews

"A stimulating text and vibrant, full-color photographs entice readers on this trip down the Amazon... A non-fiction title that inspires as it informs." School Library Journal, Starred

"[Montgomery] will not only leave readers feeling as if they'd been to the Amazon and met one of its odder-looking residents, but well equipped to pursue a newly kindled interest in rainforest conservation." Kirkus Reviews, Starred

"A captivating travelogue...children with a taste for adventure will enjoy this enthusiastic field trip to the rainforest." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review

From the Publisher