Charley Harper's What's in the Rain Forest

Following the success of Charley Harper’s What’s in the Woods?, Pomegranate continues the Nature Discovery Book series with this journey through a rain forest. Zoe Burke’s rhyming text introduces young readers to 30 different species of rain-forest dwellers—birds, butterflies, lizards, monkeys, and more. All are depicted with colorful images taken from Harper’s painting Monteverde, illustrating the various creatures inhabiting Costa Rica’s Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. The entire painting is reproduced on a fold-out page at the end of the book, with a key identifying all the featured creatures. Besides being fun to read, What’s in the Rain Forest? provides a great opportunity for children to learn about nature while also seeing how an artist interprets its diversity and beauty.

Charley Harper

Midcentury modernist Charley Harper (American, 1922–2007) portrayed the natural world with heart and humor. In vivid colors and simple shapes, his cardinals, ladybugs, and clever critters have become icons of wildlife art. His illustrations were published in magazines and books, notably Ford Times and The Giant Golden Book of Biology. A longtime conservationist, Harper created posters for more than 50 nature- and conservation-oriented organizations. His US National Park Service posters—massive, requiring a year each to paint—showcase delightful depictions of entire ecosystems in a style he defined as “minimal realism.” In his adopted hometown of Cincinnati, his public works are the legacy of an artist truly beguiled by the wild, one whose art was a quiet catalyst for ecological action.