collages by Susan L. Roth
2011 Lee & Low Books, Inc.
32 pgs.
endpapers: collage of Eritrean countryside/seaside
title page: collage papers with one mangrove tree
illustrations: collages of lovely textured papers with one big photo (of Dr. Gordon Sato)
"By the Red Sea,
in the African country of Eritrea,
lies a little village called Hargigo.
The children play in the dust
between houses made of cloth,
tin cans, and flattened iron.
The families used to be hungry.
Their animals were hungry too.
But then things began to change . . .
all because of a tree."
Scientist Dr. Gordon Sato planted mangrove trees on the shores of the Red Sea, because they survive in a very salty environment. He taught the women of the villages to fertilize and grow them. Goats and sheep thrive on eating the leaves, so the animals flourished. Dry mangrove tree branches make great fuel, there's more meat to cook and milk to drink, and the roots of the plants harbor sea creatures, so that fishermen are finding their hauls more plentiful. What a wonderful collaboration!
"This is Gordon
Whose greatet wish
Catching their fish,
To help all the children
With dusty feet,
To help all the shepherds
Who watch goats and sheep,
To help all the women
Who tend the seedlings ---
By planting trees,
Mangrove trees,
By the sea."
Plant a Mangrove Tree -- Feed a Family
The Manzanar Project
P. O. Box. 98
Gloucester, MA 01931
Love it! Ella says, "I liked the book because it told how the mangrove tree could help families in Africa."
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