17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is one "get-it-done" woman, October 20, 2008
This review is from: Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa (Hardcover)
"The earth was naked. For me the mission was to try to cover it with green." - Wangari Maathai
Growing up in the shadow of Mount Kenya in Africa, Wangari is surrounded by an umbrella of green trees. The trees protect the birds, provide firewood to the women of the village and help keep the soil rich for the sweet potatoes, sugarcane and maize Wangari helps to harvest.
Wangari travels to America for school, but when she returns six years later, the trees are gone. No crops grow, the birds are gone and the women have to travel far distances to find firewood. On World Environment Day in 1977, Wangari plants nine seedlings in her backyard and begins the Green Belt Movement which, over the next 27 years, plants thirty million trees across Africa.
Wangari's Trees of Peace: a true story from Africa is the story of one woman's effort to return green to Africa. Told in Jeanette Winter's simple language and blocky, colorful illustrations, Wangari's Trees of Peace is wonderful means to introduce 3-to-7-year- olds to environmentalism, the interconnected nature of ecosystems and political activitism. It also introduces some difficult subjects that may make some children and parents uncomfortable: prejudice ("Women can't do this"), violence ("Wangari blocks their way, so they hit her with clubs") and imprisonment ("They call her a troublemaker and put her in jail").
While Winter's tale simplifies Wangari's story to a basic level, it carries within it an important message, that one person can make a difference. Wangari's simple act of planting a tree translates to an important environmental movement and Wangari receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. Children are innate idealists and it is never too early to foster their belief that they can achieve anything.
In keeping with the environmental nature of Wangari's Trees of Peace, the book is printed on 100 percent recycled paper with 50 percent post-consumer waste.
Armchair Interviews says: Book both educates and entertains.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for an 8-year-old, September 12, 2009
This review is from: Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa (Hardcover)
I bought this for my 8-year-old niece. She and her mother read it together and really loved it. This is a great story, clearly told. For all our progress on the gender front, girls still need positive female role models, and Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and Nobel Prize Winner is a terrific one. The story values education but also stresses the importance of putting education to use. Also, the story helps children understand sustainability. Finally, the story stresses how we all need to take part in forging solutions. One person can't fix enormous problems by herself.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful story of how it only takes 1 person to change the landscape of a country, March 13, 2009
This review is from: Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa (Hardcover)
Wangari Maathai is an amazing woman - she won a scholarship to attend college in the U.S., became a professor of biology in Kenya, she enabled Kenyan woman to become environmentalists by enticing them with money, and she stood up to the government to elicit needed change to better the lives of her people. The story is powerful and still accessible, written in plain language appropriate for the 4-7 crowd.
That said - word of caution. I wanted to take this to my daughter's school, but there are two pages that make it inappropriate. The book discusses how she was beaten with clubs by police and thrown in jail. Blood is shown coming from her cheekbone. This is a difficult message to give to a 4 year old, conflicts with other messages about police we give them, and will render this book unusable in most classroom environments.
So, I am recommending the book for home use with discussion and sadly not recommending it for school use unless it has been shared beforehand with the parental types.
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