We all have time now – time to be aware of everything around us, to be present in each moment, to choose to be how we want to be, to dream. For in dreams begin the future. So let us start now (if we have not already!)

Paulo Coehlo quotes in The Alchemist that “People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.” and also notes that “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

And I somehow feel that this is exactly what the whole world is doing now – we all want a safer world, a better world – and each of us, along with the universe – is working towards to achieve it – by staying home!

“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

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The Book

Dr.Wangari Mathai Plants a Forest

Book Info

Description

From the world of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls comes a historical novel based on the life of Dr. Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist and environmentalist from Kenya.

Wangari lives in the lush, green, land of rural Kenya where the soil is perfect for planting, the trees tower into the sky, and the streams are full of mysterious creatures. All day, she plays beneath her favorite fig tree, and at night she gathers around the fire with her family to listen to her mother’s stories.

Then Wangari grows up and goes away to school, and things start changing at home. Farmers chop down the trees. Landslides bury the stream. The soil becomes overworked and dry, and nothing will grow. People go hungry. After all her studies, Dr. Wangari Maathai realizes there is a simple solution to these problems: plant a forest full of trees.

My Thoughts

I first read about Wangari Maathai in a book titled Peace and Me and later again in Rad Women Worldwide. So I knew a little bit about her and had planned to learn more about her. This book definitely helped with that goal. It takes us on a journey through her life from the time she was a little girl to later in life. We join her as she won her Nobel Prize and as she led her efforts to protect the environment.

She was definitely a power into herself, and her passion to work for what she believed in is inspirational indeed. I also learned a lot about Kenya and the ecological issues that led to her life-long commitment to the environment. I loved that the story talks about both her successes and her struggles to get there.

Wangari Maathai’s story reminds us that the journey to success begins with a single step, and that every little bit helps. We can all do our part in taking care of our natural resources in simple ways thus making our world a better one.

The story is told beautifully and sincerely, and the brilliantly vibrant and detailed illustrations add to the story without being disruptive while shining on their own as well. There are also additional resources/exercises included at the end that will encourage young readers to explore more on their own.

In Summary

This is another timely yet timeless gem of a book from the Rebel Girls series – one that needs a place in your library – no matter what your age!

An inspiration for generations.

Completely offside observation: Both the syllables of her last name – maa and thai mean mother in two(more) different Indian languages!

Get it for yourself

Goodreads || Amazon || Book Depository || Target ||
Barnes and Noble || IndieBound

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Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC of the book; these are my honest opinions after reading the book.

Other recent D Books read and reviewed and loved!

• Don’t Check Out this Book
• Dictionary for a Better World
• Don’t Let the Beasties out of the Book

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

My ‘D’ Book Stack

The Books

• The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• The Devil Takes a Bride by Julia London
• Deception Point by Dan Brown
• Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
• Don’t Lose Out, Work Out by Rujuta Diwekar
• The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell
• Don’t Shoot the White Swans by Boris Vassilyev
• Directed Reading and Writing by R.A.Banks
• Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy
• The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan
• Dinotopia by James Gurney
• Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and it is All Small Stuff by Richard Carlson
• A Duke’s Temptation
• The Dutiful Rake
• The Disharmony of Silence (not pictured but read and reviewed last week here)

Quick Notes

As always, found books for the letter after I took the pic. And this stack does not include the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (too many more then to try to fit in). Likewise, the C stack did not include our beloved Calvin and Hobbes.

The Diary of a Young Girl is another book that has made regular appearances on my blog – top ten posts, quotes, and more.

Random Thing(s) for ‘D’ Day

Choose to dedoleate if you choose anything at all! For to dedoleate means to cease to be unhappy. It is a 17th century word and one that we can use today happily!

Dollars and Cents: A man entered a store and spent one-half of the money that was in his pocket. When he came out, he found that he had just as many cents as he had dollars when he went in and half as many dollars as he had cents when he went in. How much money did he have on him when he entered?

Let me know the answer in the comments if you try and I will publish the answers to all the questions asked so far in a post next week. Since I moderate the comments, I will publish those with answers a little later.

And yes, now the end of this post

Which of the pictured/featured books have you read? Your comments on them? Do let me know

I love this Neil Gaiman quote about books and dreams –

“A book is a dream that you hold in your hands.“

For previous posts, click on the links below:

Day_0(Theme) Day_1A Day_2B Day_3C

Linking up to the April A to Z Blogging Challenge, and the Ultimate Blog Challenge (click on the images to learn more about these challenges)