Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace
A picture book biography of scientist Wangari Maathai, the first African woman--and first environmentalist--to win a Nobel Peace Prize (in 2004) for her work planting trees in her native Kenya.
As a young girl in Kenya, Wangari was taught to respect nature. She grew up loving the land, plants, and animals that surrounded her-from the giant mugumo trees her people, the Kikuyu, revered to the tiny tadpoles that swam in the river.
Although most Kenyan girls were not educated, Wangari, curious and hardworking, was allowed to go to school. There, her mind sprouted like a seed. She excelled at science and went on to study in the United States. After returning home, Wangari blazed a trail across Kenya, using her knowledge and compassion to promote the rights of her countrywomen and to help save the land, one tree at a time.
Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace brings to life the empowering story of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman, and environmentalist, to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Engaging narrative and vibrant images paint a robust portrait of this inspiring champion of the land and of women's rights.
As a young girl in Kenya, Wangari was taught to respect nature. She grew up loving the land, plants, and animals that surrounded her-from the giant mugumo trees her people, the Kikuyu, revered to the tiny tadpoles that swam in the river.
Although most Kenyan girls were not educated, Wangari, curious and hardworking, was allowed to go to school. There, her mind sprouted like a seed. She excelled at science and went on to study in the United States. After returning home, Wangari blazed a trail across Kenya, using her knowledge and compassion to promote the rights of her countrywomen and to help save the land, one tree at a time.
Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace brings to life the empowering story of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman, and environmentalist, to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Engaging narrative and vibrant images paint a robust portrait of this inspiring champion of the land and of women's rights.
Praise for Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace
"Richer than other treatments of Maathai for children and more grounded in her work's implicit feminism... Maathai always wears a colorful headscarf or fabric bow, and the community spirit she resuscitates is joyfully celebrated on every spread. Vibrant and accomplished." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"A more thorough investigation of Maathai's life... Throughout the book runs the image of the Kikuyu people's sacred mugumo tree as the source of Maathai's tree-planting project, an idea 'as small as a seed but as tall as a tree that reaches for the sky.'" -- Publishers Weekly
"This entry on Wangari Maathai takes a slightly more comprehensive look at her life than several other recent books... Vivid colors sparkle from within the thick white outlines in the batik-style illustrations that fill the pages." -- School Library Journal
"Poetic... includes direct quotes, sourced in appended notes, which will help young people feel a more immediate connection to the inspiring activist and her powerful message. Sadler's bright mixed-media art, reminiscent of Ashley Bryan's work with its white outlines and rainbow-hued shapes, reinforces the sense of a depleted land growing green again and the presence, even in bustling city scenes, of a vibrant natural world." — Booklist
"Richer than other treatments of Maathai for children and more grounded in her work's implicit feminism... Maathai always wears a colorful headscarf or fabric bow, and the community spirit she resuscitates is joyfully celebrated on every spread. Vibrant and accomplished." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"A more thorough investigation of Maathai's life... Throughout the book runs the image of the Kikuyu people's sacred mugumo tree as the source of Maathai's tree-planting project, an idea 'as small as a seed but as tall as a tree that reaches for the sky.'" -- Publishers Weekly
"This entry on Wangari Maathai takes a slightly more comprehensive look at her life than several other recent books... Vivid colors sparkle from within the thick white outlines in the batik-style illustrations that fill the pages." -- School Library Journal
"Poetic... includes direct quotes, sourced in appended notes, which will help young people feel a more immediate connection to the inspiring activist and her powerful message. Sadler's bright mixed-media art, reminiscent of Ashley Bryan's work with its white outlines and rainbow-hued shapes, reinforces the sense of a depleted land growing green again and the presence, even in bustling city scenes, of a vibrant natural world." — Booklist