• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7

South America’s story is as varied as its geography of soaring mountains, scorching deserts, and lush rainforests. In Ecuador alone, there are 25,000 kinds of plants, 1,500 species of birds, 4,500 different butterflies, and 300 mammals! Gena K. Gorrell’s brilliant text combines an often tragic history with the problems and triumphs of the present. The information she offers ranges from “the Requirement” (a document read out by the conquistadors each time they came upon a new group of indigenous people to justify their actions) to drug cartels, from the hidden and secretive Elders (a civilization that retreated to the mountains to preserve its customs and now considers itself the “guardian of the world”) to Gabriel García Márquez.

Replete with Andrej Krystoforski’s vibrant illustrations, maps, an index, and bibliography, In the Land of the Jaguar: South America and Its People is a fascinating, colorful journey of exploration and discovery.

Gena K. Gorrell's profile page

Andrej Krystoforski was born in Poland. He has worked as a production designer and as an animator. In addition to illustrating the Jungle of Utt books and The Boy Who Loved Bananas, he has also contributed illustrations to many magazines and newspapers. Andrej lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Andrej Krystoforski's profile page

Praise for Working Like a Dog:

“A thoroughly researched and captivating offering…. Report writers will find a wealth of information here, and all readers will gain a strong appreciation for these four-legged wonders.”
—School Library Journal

In the Land of the Jaguar: South America and Its People

What a treat to read a geography book that is not one of a cookie-cutter series. And a unique and exceptional book at that – beautifully written by an author who has a passionate interest in her subject. Gena Gorrell is a writer and editor who has travelled extensively in South America, from the rainforests of Brazil to the mountains of Machu Picchu, and her love of this vast and complex continent shines through in the text.

She begins with a broad overview of the continent, its early geography and its first inhabitants. From there she moves from country to country, starting with Colombia and moving counter-clockwise until she gets back to Venezuela. The final chapter is a helpful summary of the major political and cultural milestones across the continent. Each chapter talks about the unique features of a particular country as well as those things it has in common with other countries. She writes of Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, the Incas of Peru and the cattle ranches of Argentina. We also learn about the explorers and the freedom fighters, the animals and the plant life.

The text is complemented by attractive and engaging illustrations done in watercolour. They complement the text nicely, never overwhelming and always adding information. Each chapter begins with a map showing the major land features and cultural and geographical highlights. Sidebars add more information without interrupting the flow of the text. My only quibble is that there are three different fonts used – one for the main text, one for the sidebars and one for the picture descriptions. I think it would have worked better with only two.

For a child doing a project on any of these countries, this book will provide a wealth of information. However, it will require a little more work on the reader’s part than a standard country book would. It is not simply a book of facts. It’s the kind of book for reading cover to cover, or at least from the beginning of a chapter to the end. Much like Claire Mackay’s The Toronto Story, this is a personal book about a place dear to the author’s heart. Recommended.

In the Land of the Jaguar: South America and Its People

South America’s history is as varied as its geography of soaring mountains, scorching deserts and lush rainforests. This book discusses the continent’s often-tragic history as well as the problems and triumphs of the present. Illustrations, maps, timeline, source notes, selected bibliography and index included.