Imaginations will soar from the forest floor, up through the canopy and back down again, following the circle of life. The jungle comes alive as children learn about the wide variety of creatures lurking in the lush Amazon rainforest in this clever adaptation of the song “The Green Grass Grew All Around.” Search each page to find unique rainforest bugs and butterflies hiding in the illustrations. Delve even deeper into the jungle using sidebars and the “For Creative Minds” educational section, both filled with fun facts about the plants and animals, how they live in the rainforest and the products we use that come from the rainforest.

Written by Susan K. Mitchell Illustrated by Connie McLennan			32 pg 8.5'' X 10'', ages 3-7, Lexile Level: 980 Hardback: 978-0-9768823-6-7, $16.95 Paperback: 978-0-9777423-8-7, $8.95
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“Teachers looking for a rainforest book that invites participation will want to sing this one aloud, as they share the striking illustrations with their classes.” - Booklist

“Brilliant. That’s what this science book for young children is … Excellent.” - The Virginian-Pilot

“Filled with beautiful illustrations and lyrical text, The Rainforest Grew All Around is an excellent resource to introduce children to the wonders of rainforests, an important step in teaching children to be good stewards of Planet Earth.” -Rainforest Alliance

Author/Artist Bio:

Susan K. Mitchell is an author with many hats in her collection: author, mom, wife, pre-school teacher and Spanish teacher. Susan loves creating a silly world of words for kids. Surrounded by kids all day, every day, Susan has no shortage of story ideas. While using the song, The Green Grass Grows All Around, in her preschool class, she saw the excitement her students had learning about life cycles in a fun medium. “They grew gigglier and more out of breath as the song grew longer and longer,” Susan said of her students. Since the rainforest is one of the most complex ecosystems on our planet, she knew she could make it fun to learn about too. The lives in the Amazon rainforest are so intertwined that the song made a perfect background to teach children about the fragile circle of life. So she created a story that grew higher and higher, building on each plant and animal that resides in the endangered rainforest until the end becomes the beginning again! In addition to this book, Susan is the author of Stone Pizza, a picture book based on the Stone Soup tale. A member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Susan writes regularly for a variety of children’s print and online magazines: Hopscotch Magazine for Girls, Boys’ Quest, Wee Ones Magazine and Guideposts for Kids Online (GP4K). She also writes monthly for Houston magazine, Style & Living. Susan, her husband, two wonderful daughters, their dog, two new kittens, and a very cheeky beta fish live outside of Houston.  She also really needs a bigger hat rack!  Susan's Website. Interviews: Wrunge Sponge / World of Words                             

Connie McLennan has been a successful freelance artist for almost 25 years since attending Academy of Art College in San Francisco. In addition to illustrating The Rainforest Grew All Around (watercolor and acrylic), Water Beds: Sleeping in the Ocean (oil) and Octavia and Her Purple Ink Cloud (watercolor) for Sylvan Dell Publishing, she also illustrated The Wishing Tree and Domitila. Connie has illustrated numerous textbooks, and has provided illustrations for children's books and magazines for Harcourt, Holt Reinhart & Winston, Scott Foresman, Scholastic and Weekly Reader. In addition to her various illustrations, Connie has done numerous advertising projects. Connie lives with her husband and teenage son in northern California.  To visit her website, click here.

Signed, limited edition prints of some Rainforest illustrations and paintings are available on Connie McClennan's website. Prints are on Epson watercolor paper using archival inks with a lightfast rating of 92 years. Sample image, available in two sizes, unmatted or matted and ready to frame.


"Toucan" from The Rainforest Grew All Around