Forest FighterThe Story of Chico Mendes
Review posted March 28, 2025.
Crocodile Books, 2022. 48 pages.
Review written December 29, 2022, from a library book.
Starred Review
Forest Fighter is a children's biography of a hero I'd known nothing about. Chico Mendes was born in the Amazon rainforest on a rubber estate to parents who were rubber tappers.
But the rubber estate owners of the time exploited the tappers. They were paid for the rubber they got from the trees, but then charges were deducted for tools and even for renting the trees. So the families were forced to stay in poverty.
The book gives plenty of details on big, bright pages. There's more text than a typical picture book biography, but the information paints a picture of the difficult situation. Chico was tapping rubber with his father when he was still a boy -- and then a stranger came to the forest and taught him to read.
When Chico grew up, he got a job with the Brazilian Literacy Movement. But many of his students were rubber tappers and he learned about the challenges they faced.
In the 1970s, the Brazilian government needed money and looked to the Amazon to find it. They began facilitating clearing the rainforest to start cattle ranches. But that didn't work out well for the land or the people. Chico was instrumental in a movement to save the rainforest -- including making government reserves to use the rainforest in sustainable ways.
A quote from Chico sums up his story:
At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realize I am fighting for humanity.
Chico brought the attention of the world to the plight of the Amazon, but ended up losing his life because of his work. However, his legacy lives on with a large forest reserve named in his honor.
The book has five pages of back matter, including facts about the Amazon rainforest. Unfortunately, rainforest destruction is happening more quickly than ever in our day -- which makes Chico's story all the more important.