Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya

Donna Jo Napoli
$16.99 $19.99
"Nelson's pictures, a jaw-dropping union of African textiles collaged with oil paintings, brilliantly capture the villagers' clothing and the greening landscape...This is, in a word, stunning." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Nelson's (We Are the Ship) breathtaking portraits of Maathai often have a beatific quality; bright African textiles represent fields, mountains, and Maathai's beloved trees...Napoli (The Earth Shook) creates a vivid portrait of the community from which Maathai's tree-planting mission grows." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A beautiful introduction for children just learning about the Greenbelt Movement." --School Library Journal

Anne Izard Storytellers' Choice Award
CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book
CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children's Book Council)
California Collections
NAACP Image Award Nominee

Through artful prose and beautiful illustrations, Donna Jo Napoli and Kadir Nelson tell the true story of Wangari Muta Maathai, known as "Mama Miti," who in 1977 founded the Green Belt Movement, an African grassroots organization that has empowered many people to mobilize and combat deforestation, soil erosion, and environmental degradation. Today more than 30 million trees have been planted throughout Mama Miti's native Kenya, and in 2004 she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Wangari Muta Maathai has changed Kenya tree by tree--and with each page turned, children will realize their own ability to positively impact the future.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Published: 01/05/2010
ISBN: 9781416935056
Pages: 40
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 12.36h x 9.44w x 0.41d
Award: Black-Eyed Susan Award - Nominee

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 12/07/2009 pg. 46
Kirkus Review - Children 12/01/2009
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 02/01/2010
School Library Journal 02/01/2010 pg. 101
Booklist 02/15/2010 pg. 88
Ebony 04/01/2010 pg. 102
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2010 - Recommended, Satisfactory
Multicultural Review 12/01/2010 pg. 72

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 135593 / Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya
Reading Level: 4.5 / Interest Level: Lower Grade / Point Value: 0.5