Pizotito & the Wonders of the Dry Forest: Q&A with Author and Missouri Botanical Garden Scientist Laura Toro

Pizotito & the Wonders of the Dry Forest is a new children’s book published by the Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Pizotito, a coati from Costa Rica, travels the word to explore tropical dry forests and share what makes them so special.

Garden Scientist Laura Toro, one of the book’s authors, share more about dry forests, Pizotito, and why she and co-authors wanted to explore this topic for children.

Can you share a little bit about your work and background?

Laura Toro and colleague Milena Salinas in Colombia in 2022 collecting data on growth and survivial of seedling planted in 2019 and 2020. Photo by Carlos Ditta.

I am a Colombian tropical ecologist working in the Conservation and Restoration Division at the Missouri Botanical Garden. I study effective ways to recover degraded tropical forests. My projects involve collaborations with local communities, restoration practitioners, land managers, policymakers, non-profits, research centers, and universities across the world. I love teaching and mentoring, and this book has been a great way to connect with enthusiastic people who want to learn more about tropical dry forests.

How did the idea for Pizotito come about?

The authors of *Pizotito & the Wonders of the Dry Forest* discussing the book on a virtual call in March 2025.

In 2020, I was doing my PhD at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. During this year, Minneapolis was going through a lot of changes. We were experiencing both the COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest after the death of George Floyd. We were unable to go anywhere due to lockdown. Our lab, the Powers lab, started to meet weekly via Zoom. During these meetings, we shared “our art.” Art was our way to process our emotions. These sessions evolved from sharing to making art together. Pizotito & the Wonders of the Dry Forest was our way of healing and connecting with the forests we studied and the communities we shared them with.

What is a dry forest?

Santa Rosa National Park in Guanacaste, Costa Rica where Laura Toro did her research. Photo by Laura Toro.

Dry forests are an ecosystem located close to the Equator where trees live without rain for up to eight months. This long dry season makes the conditions in these forests quite harsh, so only certain plants and animals can live there.

Why write a children’s book About Dry Forests?

*Pizotito & the Wonders of the Dry Forest* teaches children about dry forests around the world. Photo by Nathan Kwarta.

Dry forests have always been an understudied ecosystem compared to other tropical ecosystems. Most people associate tropical forests with rainforests. We have lost more than 95% of dry forests already. We wanted kids to learn more about these special forests and help us protect and recover them.

How did you decide to make the main character a coati?

Ariadna Mondragon, one of the authors of *Pizotito* with coatis in Panama. Photo by Andres Delgado.

Our PhD advisor, Dr. Jennifer Powers inspired us through her children’s book about the differences between diurnal and nocturnal animals in rainforests in Costa Rica. Coatis are quite common in rainforests across Central and South America. We thought that making a coati the main character was a good way to honor our PhD advisor and to show, through the eyes of an animal not usually found in dry forests, why these forests are so magical.

What other animals are in the story and how did you choose them?

*Pizotito* features other animals including toucans, like this one pictured in Costa Rica. Photo by Mayank Kohli.

We featured a coqui frog, bengal tiger, Asian elephant, rattlesnake, toucan, chimp, jaguar, and ring-tailed lemur. We chose them because we wanted to feature local fauna meaningful to the communities living close to these forests.

What plants did you include?

A fruit of *Swietenia macrophylla* In Costa Rica. This species only grows in Costa Rica. Photo by Viviana Londoño.

We highlighted very few plants in the text. However, the drawings depict many plants found only in some specific dry forests.

Have you encountered most of these animals and plants in the field?

Far left: An anteater in Santa Rosa National Park in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Photo by German Vargas. Middle: Laura Toro in the field in Costa Rica in 2019. Photo by German Vargas. Far right: A rattlesnake in Costa Rica. Photo by Viviana Londoño

I have seen coatis in Costa Rica and Panama, toucans in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama, lemurs during my visit to Madagascar, and rattlesnakes in Colombia and Costa Rica.

What do you hope kids will learn from this book?

Santa Rosa National Park in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Photo by Laura Toro.

We want kids to learn about the immense value of tropical dry forests and to envision themselves as future nature explorers, researchers, or conservationists.

Do you plan to write more children’s books in the future?

Garden scientists visit a local vegetable stand in Luwuk, Indonesia and learn more about important local produce. Photo by Laura Toro.

There is a plan to write an ABC about important plants and animals of an area we are working in Indonesia. Three other scientists are part of this project.

Anything else you’d like to share?

A copy of *Pizotito & the Wonders of the Dry Forest* in the Shoenberg Arid House at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Arid House contains several dry forest plant species. Photo by Nathan Kwarta.

This project is a collaborative effort that was led by Viviana Londono Lemos, Ariadna Mondragon Botero, Katie LeGare (illustrator) and Sarah Jaramillo (designer)and me. We were lucky to get support from the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology and the Market Science initiative of the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota, as well as from many friends and wonderful colleagues.

Catherine Martin
Senior Public Information Officer