

" -Boston Globe "A stirring biography about her extraordinary life, with focus on courageous efforts to reforest Kenya and empower women." - The San Francisco Chronicle "Simultaneously childlike and sophisticated.The idea of restoring ruined land to its original beauty will fill readers of all ages with hope." - Starred, Publishers Weekly "Beautiful. No child, and surely no library, ought to be without Planting the Trees of Kenya.

Nivola's lovely Planting the Trees of Kenya offers Maathai's story to a younger, wider audience. "Wangari's work, as so beautifully depicted in Planting the Trees of Kenya, will inspire people worldwide." Pete Seeger "The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathai changed the world one seed at a time. In keeping with the theme of the story, the book is printed on recycled paper. An author's note provides further information about Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement.

How could she alone bring back the trees and restore the gardens and the people? Bill McKibben, author of "The End of Nature," says: "Wangari Maathai's epic story has never been told better-everyone who reads this book will want to plant a tree!" With glowing watercolor illustrations and lyrical prose, Claire Nivola tells the remarkable story of one woman's effort to change the fate of her land by teaching many to care for it. When Wangari returned home from college in America, she found the village gardens dry, the people malnourished, and the trees gone. But over many years, as more and more land was cleared, Kenya was transformed.

Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Green Belt Movement, grew up in the highlands of Kenya, where fig trees cloaked the hills, fish filled the streams, and the people tended their bountiful gardens.
