Napoli, Donna Jo Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya illustrated by Kadir Nelson PICTURE BOOK/NON-FICTION 40 pgs. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010. $17EL (K-3) -ESSENTIAL
An amazing story of Wangari Maathai, the first African American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Wangari had a love for nature and peace. This is how she transformed Kenya, tree by tree. Each time a village woman came to Wangari seeking help, she gave them a seed and told them to plant the mukinduri trees. Each time, these seeds proved to be the things these women needed most...food for their children, wood for fire, medicine for sick cattle, timber for buildings. After a time, the trees that had been gone so long from Kenya finally returned. It was again as it had been before, strong and peaceful.
The illustrations in these books are so unique in that each page is a collage of brightly colored paper. The collages are so seamless that on you have to look very closely to see how things are put together. This is an inspiring, true story of a woman that changed the world one tree at a time.
Whitney, Library-Teacher
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