Monday, September 5, 2011

Planting the Trees of Kenya by Claire A. Nivola


Planting the Trees of Kenya by Claire A. Nivola 
Fun picture book about the story of Wangari Maathai, first woman from Africa to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. As a child she remembers her home in Kenya with many farms and villages where people ate the food they grew. She was able to attend college in the US, where she studied biology in hopes to return to Kenya with her new knowledge. In those five years, though, Kenya had changed dramatically. The trees had been cut down for more plantation fields, which led to various problems. Wangari Maathai taught the women to grow trees from seeds.  This turned out to be the best thing for the people of Kenya.

My thoughts:
I thought the book was really good for younger children to learn about a person out making a difference in her home country. The pictures are colorful. 

4 comments:

Rosalind Adam said...

I love picture books. I've got quite an eclectic collection of them but I've never heard of this one. It sounds lovely.

MaDonna Maurer said...

It is really nice. I love picture books, too...but still can't think why I put this one on my list. I'm glad I did though.

Shauna said...

great. love books that celebrate one
person making a difference esp. when that person is young.

MaDonna Maurer said...

Just to let you all know. She just died a few weeks ago.