Seeds of Change

Planting a Path to Peace
By Jen Cullerton Johnson, Sonia Lynn Sadler
Hardcover: $20.95

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.

Front cover for The Story of Environmentalist Wangari Maathai by Jen Cullerton Johnson and Sonia Lynn Sadler
This book is also available in English
The Story of Environmentalist Wangari Maathai
By Jen Cullerton Johnson, Sonia Lynn Sadler
Front cover for Semillas de cambio by Jen Cullerton Johnson and Sonia Lynn Sadler
This book is also available in Spanish
Semillas de cambio
By Jen Cullerton Johnson, Sonia Lynn Sadler

Description

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.

About the Creators

Jen Cullerton Johnson

Jen Cullerton Johnson is a writer, an educator, and an environmentalist with master's degrees in nonfiction writing and curriculum development. She teaches at both the elementary and college levels in Chicago, where she also conducts writing workshops. Johnson can be found online at jencullertonjohnson.com.

Sonia Lynn Sadler
Sonia Lynn Sadler

Sonia Sadler was an illustrator and a fine artist who focused on depicting the cultures, lives, and stories of peoples of African descent. Her book, Seeds of Change, earned her a Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Her unique style drew inspiration from quilts and employed a variety of techniques and mediums--from watercolor to scratchboard. She passed away in September 2013.

Awards

  • John Steptoe Award for New Talent in Illustrations

    American Library Association (ALA)

  • Notable Books for a Global Society

    International Literacy Association (ILA)

  • Amelia Bloomer Book List

    American Library Association (ALA)

  • Green Earth Book Award Honor

    The Nature Generation

  • Young Hoosier Book Award

    Indiana Library Federation

  • Great Lakes Great Books Award Nominee

    Michigan Reading Association

  • United Women in Faith Reading Program

    United Methodist Women

  • Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Awards

    Northland College

Reviews

  • * "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
  • "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
  • "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

Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781600603679
  • Publication Date Apr 06, 2010
  • Trim Size 10.1 × 9.2 in
  • Weight 1 lbs
  • Page Count 40
  • Interests

  • Audience Children
  • BISAC Category 1 JNF / Science & Nature / Environmental Conservation& Protection
  • BISAC Category 2 JNF / Biography & Autobiography / Social Activists
  • BISAC Category 3 JNF / People & Places / Africa
  • Themes African / African American / Black, Animal / Biodiversity / Plant Adaptations, Biography / Memoir, Breaking Gender Barriers, Cultural Diversity, Discrimination, Dreams & Aspirations, Education, Empathy / Compassion, Environment / Nature, Exploring Ecosystems, Farming, Food, Geography, Heroism, History & Civics, Home, Human Impact On Environment / Environmental Sustainability, Identity / Self Esteem / Confidence, Informational / Expository Nonfiction, Integrity / Honesty, Kindness / Caring, Leadership, Mentors, Multiple Ethnicities Represented, Nature / Science, Nonfiction, Occupations, Optimism / Enthusiasm, Overcoming Obstacles, Persistence / Grit, Poverty, Pride, Respect / Citizenship, Responsibility, Self Control / Self Regulation, Sharing & Giving, Social & Emotional Learning, Women's History
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 6 - 11
  • Grade Range Grades 1 - 6
  • Guided Reading S
  • ATOS Book Level 4.8
  • DRA 40
  • Interest Level Grades 1 - 6
  • Lexile Level 820
  • Reading Level Grades 4 - 5
  • SRC 5.4
  • Bebop Reading Fluent
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