Jeanette Winter’s striking acrylic illustrations, in a warm palette of colors, bring a vibrant sense of importance to the story of Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement in Kenya. Beginning with Maathai’s childhood growing up beneath an umbrella of green in the shadow of Mount Kenya, Winter’s words root readers in a faraway landscape. Following Wangari’s study-abroad experience in the United States, she returns home to find the land deforested, with serious consequences to her people and the agriculture. Wangari launches a mission to replant the trees of Kenya, and she gradually recruits an army of women across the land to join her—despite social and political obstacles. Together they plant more than 30 million trees, and the land is renewed. An author’s note provides information on the chronology of events as well as details on the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Wangari Maathai in 2004. This straightforward and vivid picture book biography both works on its own and complements other materials on this topic. (Ages 5–9)

When she was small, Wangari Maathai gathered wood, watching the birds in the forests. When she returned to Kenya from school, the trees and birds had vanished. “I can begin to replace some of the lost trees here in my own backyard—one tree at a time,” (n.p.) became her mantra. Wangari Maathai began the Green Belt Movement and planted a tree—the African symbol of peace—when she learned she had won the Nobel Peace Prize. Her life has inspired a number of books in recent years, including Mama Miti (Napoli) and Planting the Trees of Kenya (Nivola), both reviewed here. 2009 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2009 Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12. lmp