Today is International Day of Forests.
The UN General Assembly proclaimed 21 March as the International Day of Forests in 2012. The Day celebrates and raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests.
These two books are perfect for sharing with little readers today.
The Girl Who Planted Trees is a beautiful picture book. It tells the tale of a little girl who wants to plant a forest after learning that there once was one on the great grey mountain she lives at the foot of with her Grandpa.
The little girl in this story is the perfect role model for young children. She is courageous, patient and resilient. She cares about the planet and loves her Grandpa who adores her too. The relationship between the pair is strong and tender and beautifully illustrated on the pages of this book.
The little girl collects fruit seeds and plants them on the mountain. She and her saplings suffered many setbacks. A lack of water, seeds being eaten, sprouts baked by the sun and a devastating storm.
Whatever adversity this little girl faces she finds a way to overcome it, with the help of her Grandpa. Her hardwork and patience pay off when her seeds become sprouts and her saplings become trees.
The little girl inspires her Grandpa and the community, who all come together to help make the little girls’ dream come true, because her dream has become their dream too.
This book reaffirms everything I truly believe and everything that I want my children to believe.
You are never too young to change the world, you are never too small to make a difference and you must be the change that you want to see in the world.
Also …
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
In this case a whole village comes together and inspired by one little girl’s dreams they create something incredible.
This is an incredibly powerful picture book and it made me cry. I love the little girl in the story, I love her relationship with her Grandpa and I love her determination, patience and strength. I love how such a lovely story raises awareness of deforestation, habitat destruction and the importance of planting trees in such a hopeful way.
Do look at my highlight Tree Planting to see my emotional flick through the pages of this stunning book and to learn more of the reasons why I love this story.
For Book Match Monday I am pairing The Girl Who Planted Trees with The Tree Book.
The Tree Book is a brilliant little non fiction board book perfect for taking out adventuring. With see through acetate pages this book allows children and their grown ups tp see all the things that trees are and all the things that they can do.
The pages of this book take us through the season and the lifecycle of a tree. Little readers can learn about flowers and pollen, leaves and photosynthesis, fruits and seeds, mighty minibeasts and animal homes. The acetate overlays show children what is happening inside a tree, on a tree and under trees. It is very clever. We loved learning about leaf litter and exploring the underground roots and talking about trunks and bark. This is a lovely little book for chowing children why trees are so important and how we can and should take care of them.
Everyone needs trees! They are amazing!