C A N D L E W I C K P R E S S T E AC H E R S ’ G U I D E

ZONIA’S RAIN FOREST

Juana Martinez-Neal

AB O U T TH E B O O K
Zonia’s home is the Amazon rain forest, where it
is always green and full of life. Every morning, the
rain forest calls to Zonia, and every morning, she
answers. She visits the sloth family, greets the giant
anteater, and runs with the speedy jaguar. But one
morning, the rain forest calls to her in a troubled
voice. How will Zonia answer?

Acclaimed author-illustrator Juana Martinez-

Neal explores the wonders of the Peruvian rain
forest with Zonia, an Asháninka girl, in her joyful
outdoor adventures. Illuminating back matter
includes a translation of the story in Asháninka,
information on the Asháninka nation, and facts
about the Amazon rain forest and its wildlife.

This guide has been created to support caregivers, HC: 978-1-5362-0845-0

educators, and students learning about the Amazon Spanish edition, La selva de Zonia
rain forest and its inhabitants. Information in the HC: 978-1-5362-1336-2
back of the book identifies major threats to the rain Both are also available as e-books.
forest and to the Indigenous nations who have, for
millennia, lived and thrived there. By reading and
sharing this book, we can learn to become more
thoughtful, intentional stewards of this fragile
Earth and its many inhabitants.

Common Core
Connections
This guide, which can be used with large or small groups,
will help students meet several of the Common Core State
Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts. These include
the reading literature standards for key ideas and details,
craft and structure, and integration of knowledge and
ideas (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL). Questions can also be used
in writing prompts for independent work.

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DI S C U S S I O N Q U E S T I O N S
1. I n what part of the rain forest does Zonia live? Across which other countries does the Amazon rain forest
exist?

2. W hat is the name of the type of butterfly that follows Zonia on her adventures? What do you think the
butterfly might symbolize in the story?

3. What other animals does Zonia encounter in the rain forest?

4. H
 ow does Zonia interact with her animal friends? What do you think she might learn from each of them?

5. To what nation of Indigenous people does Zonia belong? What does the book teach us about them?

6. If you were to ask Zonia who is in her family, what do you think her answer would be?

7. W hat are some of the threats to the Amazon rain forest and to the plants, animals, and people who live
there? Who is affected by the destruction and shrinking of the rain forest?

C L A S S R O O M AC T I V IT I E S
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THE AMAZON RAIN FOREST
Zonia’s people are the Asháninka, the largest Indigenous nation living in the Peruvian Amazon.
More than four hundred different Indigenous nations call the Amazon rain forest home. When learning
about any of the world’s Indigenous nations, one must also learn about and understand colonization,
disenfranchisement, and forced relocation. Through activism, community organization, and legal action,
the Asháninka are today fighting to save their land and their culture, fighting for their human rights
and for their lives. You may find it helpful to create personal, community, or classroom definitions for
some of these words.

Have your students use the following resources (or others they can access) to research and learn more
about the Asháninka. Using the reproducible page, ask each student to create a mini-poster that highlights
new facts they have learned about the Asháninka nation and includes a question of their own.

SUGGESTED RESOURCES

From the World Culture Encyclopedia:

https://www.everyculture.com/wc/Norway-to-Russia/Ash-ninka.html

From Survival International:

https://www.survivalinternational.org/galleries/ashaninka

From Peru.info:
https://peru.info/en-us/talent/news/6/24/meet-the-largest-ethnic-in-the-peruvian-jungle

From Povos Indígenas no Brasil (Encyclopedia of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil):

https://pib.socioambiental.org/en/Povo:Ashaninka

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Name

Culture is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions
or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time.”
• In box one, draw or explain one fact you have learned about the Asháninka culture.
• In box two, draw or explain one question you would ask an Asháninka person if you could.
• In box three, draw or explain one challenge the Asháninka face.
• In box four, draw or explain one event you have learned about connected to colonization,
disenfranchisement, forced relocation, activism, community organization, legal action, or human rights.

CULTURAL FACT QUESTION

CHALLENGE EVENT

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ANIMALS OF THE AMAZON

Have your students use the book and any other resources you may have to research the animals in
Zonia’s Rain Forest and then create a short story about one or more of the animals that teaches readers:

1. What they look like

2. What they eat (or what eats them)

3. Where they live in the rain forest (for instance, in water or high in the canopies of trees)

4. Threats to their survival (how deforestation, farming, mining, logging, or oil and gas extraction
might affect them)

CHOOSE ONE THREAT TO THE RAIN FOREST AND IMAGINE A SOLUTION

Throughout the book, a blue morpho butterfly follows Zonia on her adventures. The butterfly can symbolize
many things, but it is most widely known to symbolize change or rebirth because it changes from a
caterpillar to a winged insect through a process called metamorphosis.

In the back of the book, there is more information about four major threats to the Amazon: illegal logging,
farming, mining, and oil and gas extraction. Have your students draw a blue morpho and write a paragraph
or short poem about one thing they would change about the world in order to protect the rain forest. You
can provide the following sentence starters to help them organize their ideas.

1. N
 ow we  , but in the future we will  , which will help the rain forest
by  .

2. If we stop  , this will help the rain forest have more  .

3. We can help in the rain forest by instead of  .

4. If we change  , it will help the people and animals by  .

Or students can create an acrostic poem with the letters C H A N G E.

Example:

C: Care for the plants and animals that share the piece of Earth on which you live.

H: Heed the words of the Indigenous nations living in the rain forest; follow their lead.

A: Act to teach people in your community about the negative effects of deforestation.

N: Never forget that we are all connected to the earth and to one another.

G: Grow your own plants using environmentally responsible practices.

E: Expand your awareness and appreciation of the many different cultures and ecosystems that exist on Earth.

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LANGUAGE
In the back of the book, the story’s text is provided in the Asháninka language. Many Indigenous languages
throughout the world are in danger of being forgotten or lost as educational systems use the language of
colonizers rather than teaching young people about Indigenous languages. Have your students learn more
about Indigenous languages and create materials to teach others.

1. H
 ave your students research other Indigenous languages and mark on a world map where they are spoken
and how many people speak each of them.

2. G
 ive each of your students an index card on which you have written one word from the Asháninka
translation. Have students learn how to pronounce the word on their card. Then have them complete
their card with the written phonetic pronunciation, a translation of the word into English, a dictionary
definition of the word, and an illustration. Put students into groups of three or more and have them
teach their words to one another. After completing the group work, combine all the cards on one poster,
bulletin board, or virtual display.

SUGGESTED RESOURCES

From Omniglot on Asháninka language, alphabet, and pronunciation:

https://omniglot.com/writing/ashaninka.htm

Glosbe’s English/Asháninka online dictionary:

https://glosbe.com/en/cni

OUR RAIN FORESTS ARE A GIFT

A rain forest is only one of Earth’s habitats, but it is vital in keeping the rest of the world alive and thriving.
There are many beneficial medicines and materials that come from the world’s rain forests. Engage your
students in learning more about resources that come from the rain forest habitat.

1. Z
 onia lives in the Amazon rain forest. Ask each student to find and learn about one product or material
that comes from the Amazon rain forest and then tell the class about its origins and how it is useful to
humans. For example, mahogany (a type of lumber) comes from a mahogany tree.

2. A
 s a class, identify one product, resource, or material for each letter of the alphabet and put together an
alphabet rain forest book. Invite another class to read the book and then come together to talk about the
importance of protecting one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems.

SUGGESTED RESOURCE

Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo’s list of rain forest products:

https://kidszoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Rain-Forest-Products.pdf

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ZONIA’S FRIENDS AND FAMILY

As you read, encourage your students to take note of the interactions Zonia has with the other characters in
the book, human and animal. Ask them who those characters are and how Zonia feels about each one. How
do they know how Zonia feels about them? Have students examine Zonia’s face and pay attention to her
words and the observations she makes about the people, plants, and animals in her world. Then have each
student draw a picture with Zonia and one of the other characters, plants, or animals in the book. Under
their picture, have students explain how Zonia feels using one of the following sentence starters.

Zonia feels curious around  , and I know this because her face shows  .

Zonia feels about  , and I know this when she says  .

Zonia feels when happens. I know this because  .

TAKING ACTION
Using resources from your classroom, the internet, the library, or their homes, have your students read about
ways young people are taking action to preserve and educate others about the rain forests of the world. Each
may choose to research and create a piece of art or make a short presentation about another rain forest in
another part of the world that needs protecting.

CLASS FUNDRAISER FOR THE RAIN FOREST

A big way to take action is to create a fundraiser. Have your students research organizations that
work to protect rain forests to see if you can join forces with them! One example is
https://www.kidssavingtherainforest.org/.

As you work as a class on your fundraiser, be sure students are answering the following questions:

Who lives in the rain forest? These can be people, animals, plants, and other living things.

What needs protecting? What species are endangered, what habitats are threatened, and what people are being
displaced from their home?

Where is the rain forest you plan to support? Draw a map with a specific part colored in to indicate which part
of the rain forest you chose.

When will you take action? What is the time period in which you plan to raise funds? How much would you like to
raise?

Why do you want to support rain forest conservation? This is perhaps the most important question. Explain
how protecting the community of the rain forest impacts your own community.

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AB O U T TH E AU TH O R-I L LU S T R ATO R
JUANA MARTINEZ-NEAL is the daughter and granddaughter
of painters. She started her story in Lima, Peru, and then moved
to the United States. She is the author-illustrator of the Caldecott
Honor Book Alma and How She Got Her Name and winner of
Photo by Jade Beall

the 2018 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award and 2020 Robert F. Sibert
Medal. Juana Martinez-Neal is writing the story of her life, with the
help of her husband and three children, in Connecticut.

J UA N A M A R T I N E Z-N E A L’ S O TH E R B O O K S

Babymoon Alma and How She Got Her Name

by Hayley Barrett HC: 978-0-7636-9355-8
illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal Spanish edition, Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre
HC: 978-0-7636-8852-3 HC: 978-0-7636-9358-9
Both are also available as e-books.

This guide was prepared by Julia Torres, a veteran language arts teacher-librarian in Denver, Colorado.
Julia facilitates teacher development workshops rooted in the areas of anti-racist education, equity and
access in literacy and librarianship, and education as a practice of liberation. She also serves on several
local and national boards and committees promoting educational equity and progressivism. She is a
Book Love Foundation board member, a member of the ALAN board of directors, and an Educator
Collaborative Book Ambassador.

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