The Mangrove Tree

Planting Trees to Feed Families
By Susan L. Roth, Cindy Trumbore
Paperback: $12.95

The fascinating story of Dr. Gordon Sato, who helped a small African village become self-sustaining by planting a forest of mangrove trees to reshape the community’s ecosystem.

Front cover for El mangle by Susan L. Roth; Cindy Trumbore and Susan L. Roth
This book is also available in Spanish
El mangle
By Susan L. Roth, Cindy Trumbore

Description

For a long time, the people of Hargigo, a village in the tiny African country of Eritrea, were living without enough food for themselves and their animals. The families were hungry, and their goats and sheep were hungry too. Then along came a scientist, Dr. Gordon Sato, who helped change their lives for the better. And it all started with some special trees.

These are the trees,

Mangrove trees,

That were planted by the sea.

With alternating verse and prose passages, The Mangrove Tree invites readers to discover how Dr. Sato’s mangrove tree-planting project transformed an impoverished village into a self-sufficient community. This fascinating story is a celebration of creativity, hard work-and all those mangrove trees that were planted by the sea!

About the Creators

Susan L. Roth
Susan L. Roth

Susan L. Roth's vibrant mixed-media collage illustrations have appeared in numerous outstanding picture books, including Parrots Over Puerto Rico, winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal; Prairie Dog Song; The Mangrove Tree; and most recently Every Month Is a New Year and Malala Yousafzai: Warrior with Words. Roth and her husband live in New York. Visit her online at susanlroth.com.

Cindy Trumbore

Cindy Trumbore has been involved with young people's literature for most of her career. A former editor in children's book publishing, she now writes children's books, edits books for classrooms, and teaches writing. She has collaborated with her friend Susan L. Roth on several award-winning titles, including Parrots Over Puerto Rico, which won the Robert F. Sibert Medal for Nonfiction; The Mangrove Tree; Prairie Dog Song, and most recently Butterfly for a King. She lives with her husband in Delaware. You can visit her online at cindykane.net.

Awards

  • ALSC Notable Children's Books

    American Library Association (ALA)

  • Best Children's Books of the Year Outstanding

    Bank Street College of Education

  • Jane Addams Children's Book Award

    Jane Addams Peace Association

  • CCBC Choices

    Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

  • Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Award Winner

    California Reading Association

  • Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Honor

    National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

  • Green Earth Book Award

    The Nature Generation

  • Outstanding Achievement in Children's Literature

    Wisconsin Library Association

Reviews

  • * "Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore's The Mangrove Tree describes how these trees were planted by local women—earning them much needed income—while the leaves from the mangrove trees feed Hargigo's sheep and goats. . . photographs of Dr. Sato and the Hargigo community at work illustrate this stunning book."

    - School Library Journal
  • * "This moving depiction of ecological innovation centers on a project spearheaded by Dr. Gordon Sato to plant mangrove trees. . . . Graceful prose alternates with cumulative verse to relay the benefits that the trees provided for the community. . . . Resembling papier-mâché, Trumbore's textural mixed-media collages become increasingly lively as the new ecosystem flourishes. An extensive afterword, containing many photographs of Sato and the people of Hargigo, brings their hopeful story into sharp focus."

    - Publishers Weekly
  • "Hitting home hard is the project's simple practicality: no high-tech, no great infusions of capital or energy—in a word, motivating, in the best possible way."

    - Kirkus Reviews
  • "This is a special children's book. It is a story, a poem, and a biography celebrating one man's vision and human triumph over poverty, hunger and global climate change. The Mangrove Tree is richly illustrated by Susan L. Roth, with layer upon layer of colorful collage work. Co-written by Cindy Trumbore, The Mangrove Tree is a wonderful read-aloud for preschool to primary school ages and a useful resource for school reports."

    - The Bookshelf

Paperback

  • ISBN 9781620145807
  • Price $12.95
  • Publication Date May 01, 2011
  • Trim Size 8.875 × 10.875 in
  • Weight 0.4375 lbs
  • Page Count 40
  • Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781600604591
  • Price $19.95
  • Publication Date May 01, 2011
  • Trim Size 8.75 × 10.75 × 1 in
  • Weight 1 lbs
  • Page Count 40
  • Word Count 988
  • Interests

  • Imprint Lee & Low Books
  • Audience Children
  • BISAC Category 1 JNF / Science & Nature / Environmental Science & Ecosystems
  • BISAC Category 2 JNF / Biography & Autobiography / Science & Technology
  • BISAC Category 3 JNF / History / Africa
  • Themes African / African American / Black, Animal / Biodiversity / Plant Adaptations, Animals, Asian / Asian American / AAPI, Biography / Memoir, Cultural Diversity, Earth / Sun / Moon System, Education, Empathy / Compassion, Environment / Nature, Exploring Ecosystems, Farming, Food, Gratitude, How-to / Instructional Nonfiction, Human Impact On Environment / Environmental Sustainability, Informational / Expository Nonfiction, Leadership, Mentors, Multiple Ethnicities Represented, Nature / Science, Nonfiction, Optimism / Enthusiasm, Overcoming Obstacles, Persistence / Grit, Respect / Citizenship, Responsibility, Social & Emotional Learning, Social Justice & Activism, STEM / STEAM, Water
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 6 - 11
  • Grade Range Grades 1 - 6
  • Guided Reading R
  • ATOS Book Level 6.4
  • DRA 40
  • Interest Level Grades 1 - 6
  • Lexile Code NC
  • Lexile Level 1190
  • Reading Level Grades 3 - 4
  • SRC 10.8
  • Bebop Reading Fluent
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