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The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families
A picture book based on the work of Dr. Gordon Sato, a Japanese American cell biologist who made saltwater and desert land productive through the planting of mangrove trees in Eritrea, a poor African country bordering the Red Sea.
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
May 1st 2011
by Lee & Low Books
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"The Mangrove Tree" by Susan Roth is a primary book in the non-fiction informational genre, with a biography at the end of the story. It was nominated for the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award in 2012. The book is about a group of people in Hargigo, Africa who are starving because of the drought that causes them and the animals to not have plants to eat. A man named Dr. Sato comes up with the idea of planting mangrove trees to feed the animals and, in turn, feed the people. I chose the book "Bringing the...more
Audience: Primary readers, K-2nd.
Genre: Informational.
Text-to-text: This story reminds me of the story "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" because each of the stories has to do with the struggle of discrimination and each revolve around a body, or bodies of water.
Text-to-self: The situation that the characters are living in throughout this text is very difficult for me to relate to myself, but the creation and solution to their problems is one that grabs my interest. The area that the characters live i...more
Genre: Informational.
Text-to-text: This story reminds me of the story "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" because each of the stories has to do with the struggle of discrimination and each revolve around a body, or bodies of water.
Text-to-self: The situation that the characters are living in throughout this text is very difficult for me to relate to myself, but the creation and solution to their problems is one that grabs my interest. The area that the characters live i...more
Main characters: Dr. Gordon Sato and the people of Hargigo
Setting: Hargigo, Eritrea( Country of Africa)
POV: 3rd person
Summary:
The Mangrove Tree invites readers to discover how Dr. Sato’s Mangrove planting project changed an improvershed and malnusihed village into a self-sufficient community. For a long time, the people of Harigog, a village in a small African country in Eriteas, were living with very little food for themselves, as well as for their animals. As these families grew hungry day to...more
Setting: Hargigo, Eritrea( Country of Africa)
POV: 3rd person
Summary:
The Mangrove Tree invites readers to discover how Dr. Sato’s Mangrove planting project changed an improvershed and malnusihed village into a self-sufficient community. For a long time, the people of Harigog, a village in a small African country in Eriteas, were living with very little food for themselves, as well as for their animals. As these families grew hungry day to...more
When your village is hungry, and the only available water is salt water, what can you possibly grow? As Dr. Gordon H. Sato discovered, the answer is “mangrove trees!” The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families is a nonfiction picture book about Dr. Sato’s Manzanar Project to plant mangrove trees in the African village of Hargigo. The book carefully takes children and adults through the process of planting the trees, and all of the many benefits the trees bring once they’re planted. The s...more
This book, by Cindy Trumbore and Susan Roth, is three books in one: a cumulative rhyme like "The House That Jack Built", the story of Dr. Gordon Sato's mangrove tree planting project in Eritrea, and a pictorial biography of Dr. Sato in the extensive Afterword. That makes it sound pedantic, but it is not. Children will appreciate how significant in the Eritrean economy was the simple act of planting these trees that live in salt water. Amazing! The remarkable illustrations by Susan Roth are paper...more
Audience: Pre-K through adult would enjoy this book
Appeal: "The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families" is a heart-warming story about a man, Dr. Gordon Sato, who wanted to help the people of the African country of Eritrea. Like many places in Africa, food is scarce for both people and animals. After visiting Eritrea, Dr. Sato wanted to do something to help the people, and this is where the mangrove tree enters the picture. Dr. Sato did a lot of research and then had the people of this...more
Mar 02, 2012
Saima
added it
The Mangrove Tree by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, is one of the most inspirational children’s nonfiction books I have read. The determination of a scientist to change the lives of people in hunger has transformed a poor village into a functioning society.
The writing style of the book is clear and concise; it is also very engaging and artistic. The left side of the book consists of verses about the mangrove tree project and the right side of the book consists of prose passages which informs...more
The writing style of the book is clear and concise; it is also very engaging and artistic. The left side of the book consists of verses about the mangrove tree project and the right side of the book consists of prose passages which informs...more
First of all, I love this style of art: mixed media collage. Unfortunately, the detail included often makes the book hard to use for storytime. I prefer books with bright colors and clear illustrations for storytime, so the kids can see-a-long with what I'm reading. But believe me, the story is still worth trying out on the kids.
Secondly, this is a great story that can be read in a couple of different ways. There is the storybook sort of text that follows along the lines of the House that Jack B...more
Secondly, this is a great story that can be read in a couple of different ways. There is the storybook sort of text that follows along the lines of the House that Jack B...more
This book tells the true story of Dr. Gordon Sato in picture book format. The village of Hargigo in the African country of Eritrea was dry and the animals could not find enough to eat. Dr. Sato had the idea of planting mangrove trees on the shore of the salty Red Sea. The trees can survive the salt and would give women in the village a way to earn money close to home from planting the trees. The trees also help by giving off oxygen too. The goats and sheep ate the leaves from the trees and grew...more
This book is amazing on so many levels. Read one way, it sounds like the story The House That Jack Built. Read a second way, adding in the text on the right hand sides, you learn about the mangrove tree and how it helped to feed families as the number of trees multiplied. Reading the Afterward at the end of the book, you learn about Dr. Gordon Sato, who himself was imprisoned in a Japanese concentration camp during WWII. Also included in the afterward are numerous pictures of people in Eritrea g...more
Grade level interest: 3rd-5th grade
Lexile Level: NC1190L
Genre: Picture Book/ Multicultural Literature/ Jane Addams Book Award
Main Characters: Gordon
Setting: Africa
POV: Dr. Gordon Sato
Dr. Gordon Sato is a Japanese-American cell biologist who is always looking for ways to help people. He was doing research in a small village in Africa and came up with a brilliant idea to help feed the village. Using the desert land and saltwater, he planted mangrove trees all around. The planting of mangrove tree...more
Lexile Level: NC1190L
Genre: Picture Book/ Multicultural Literature/ Jane Addams Book Award
Main Characters: Gordon
Setting: Africa
POV: Dr. Gordon Sato
Dr. Gordon Sato is a Japanese-American cell biologist who is always looking for ways to help people. He was doing research in a small village in Africa and came up with a brilliant idea to help feed the village. Using the desert land and saltwater, he planted mangrove trees all around. The planting of mangrove tree...more
Ages: 5-10 years
Cumulative tale may be good for felt storytelling.
The land in Hargigo, Eritrea, Africa is dry and dusty. With little rainfall, the livestock do not have enough to eat, leaving little meat and milk for the citizens. Part biography, part environmental success story, Roth and Trumbore describe the scientific undertaking of Dr. Gordon H. Sato to save this little town in Africa with mangrove trees built for salty water. With fertilizer, the diligent hands of women villagers, and the h...more
Cumulative tale may be good for felt storytelling.
The land in Hargigo, Eritrea, Africa is dry and dusty. With little rainfall, the livestock do not have enough to eat, leaving little meat and milk for the citizens. Part biography, part environmental success story, Roth and Trumbore describe the scientific undertaking of Dr. Gordon H. Sato to save this little town in Africa with mangrove trees built for salty water. With fertilizer, the diligent hands of women villagers, and the h...more
This informational picture book is appropriate for grades 3-6 and possibly even a younger audience depending on how it's used in the classroom. The story of how Dr. Gordon Soto's Mangrove Project in Africa changed the lives of a village and continues to grow around the world feeding people, creating jobs, empowering women and more is a perfect fit for the global focus and STEM focus in our elementary schools. The left side of each page has simplistic, lyrical text telling the story. The right si...more
In the African country of Eritrea, where fresh water is scarce, animals go hungry, and people struggle to grow food, one Japanese American cell biologist named Dr. Gordon Sato put together science and past experiences to create a way for desert land and saltwater to work together and create a Mangrove forest.
The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families, written by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore was the 2011 Eureka! Gold Award winner and 2012 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfi...more
The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families, written by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore was the 2011 Eureka! Gold Award winner and 2012 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfi...more
Jun 09, 2011
June
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Environmental enthusiasts and biography readers
Shelves:
biography,
programbook
A picture biography of Gordon Sato who spent his teen years in the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California, but went on to plant mangrove trees in Eritrea to try and erase hunger and poverty. His success in Eritrea has led to 2 more projects in Mauritania and Morocco.
The biography is told on 2 levels. There is a simple verse in a cumulative tale style similar to "This is the house that Jack Built," on one side and a more in depth story in prose on the other side. Photos and more information...more
The biography is told on 2 levels. There is a simple verse in a cumulative tale style similar to "This is the house that Jack Built," on one side and a more in depth story in prose on the other side. Photos and more information...more
This book won the 2012 Jane Addams Children's Book Award. It is obviously deserving of this award for a number of reasons. This award is given to to children's books that promote peace, world community, equality and social justice. Dr. Gordon Sato, a cell biologist who endured Japanese concentration camps started a Mangrove planting project in an impoverished village in the country of Eritrea in Africa. This book is beautifully written as well as illustrated. The work depicts this man's positive...more
This is a non-fiction tale presented in story format, of how the innovation of a cellular biologist, Gordon Sato from the United States, started a project where the people from the small, poor village of Hargigo, Eritrea were taught how to grow mangrove trees to help become a thriving, self-sufficient community. The book tells of how Dr. Sato created a project teaching the villagers to grow and use mangrove trees (which grow well in saltwater) to nourish their flocks of sheep & goats, increa...more
The story of how planting mangroves in the dry coastal village of Hargigo, Eritrea, is helping the people and animals who live in the area to have more food and a better life. Told in two narratives: one is a short, "House that Jack Built" style text and the other explains more of the situation and the process. "This is the tree, a mangrove tree./These are the trees, Mangrove trees, that were planted by the sea." Roth's collages incorporate cloth, textured papers, and natural materials. The stor...more
Grade/Interest Level: Primary/Upper Elementary (1st-5th)
Reading Level: Q
Genre: Poetry
Main Characters: N/A
Setting: Hargigo
POV: Third Person
Summary:
The village of Hargigo was starving. The people were living without enough food for them to survive. The animals were also suffering as well. Each and every family in village were starving and they wren’t able to feed their animals. This book tells readers how the village was transformed with the help of Dr. Sato. He planted Mangrove trees in the vill...more
Reading Level: Q
Genre: Poetry
Main Characters: N/A
Setting: Hargigo
POV: Third Person
Summary:
The village of Hargigo was starving. The people were living without enough food for them to survive. The animals were also suffering as well. Each and every family in village were starving and they wren’t able to feed their animals. This book tells readers how the village was transformed with the help of Dr. Sato. He planted Mangrove trees in the vill...more
Audience: Students and teachers in grades 1-6, science teachers or students, art teachers and students, poetry and prose teachers and students
Appeal: This book has amazing mixed-media collage illustrations with a lot of texture. The text alternates with cumulative verse and prose on left and right hand pages respectively. This feature makes the book very versatile as the verse alone could be read with younger students and older students may be more interested in the prose. Science oriented read...more
Appeal: This book has amazing mixed-media collage illustrations with a lot of texture. The text alternates with cumulative verse and prose on left and right hand pages respectively. This feature makes the book very versatile as the verse alone could be read with younger students and older students may be more interested in the prose. Science oriented read...more
This is a book I will definitely be sharing with teachers at my school. The format of this book is unique because it is written as a narrative story on one side of the page and facts about the village that grew mangrove trees and facts about mangrove trees are opposite the narrative. A unique book that can be used as a mentor text during a nonfiction writing unit or a unit. The book has beautiful multimedia illustrations and at the end of the book there are photos and information about Dr. Sato,...more
Audience: This is a great book for people who like to learn about other cultures, readers who like true stories as well as for kids who like biographies of one person who makes a big difference. It is also a great book for kids that like "add-to" text format. This would be a great story for teacher's looking to teach cause and effect or teaching continents or global citizenship.
Appeal: This is 2 stories told as one. On the left page is the add on story, each page adding the main line from the pa...more
Appeal: This is 2 stories told as one. On the left page is the add on story, each page adding the main line from the pa...more
I like how the book uses different art for the illustrations, canvas, paint, fabric, and tissue paper to name a few. I thought it was a great idea how the author included photographs showing real women planting Mangrove seedlings. I will definitely use this book to teach the subject of Science. In the book it says, “Their leaves take carbon dioxide out of the air. In exchange the leaves give off oxygen, which people and animals need to breathe.” (Roth) This book consists of dialogue and repetiti...more
Nov 09, 2012
Barbara
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
animals,
community,
green-books,
heroes,
nbgs2012,
picture-book,
science,
social-activists,
rural-life
An example of the difference one person can make, Dr. Gordon Sato encouraged the residents of Hargigo, Eritrea, to plant mangrove trees in the soil near the sea so that the village can become self-sufficient. The saplings grew into trees whose leaves nourished the village's goats and sheep while removing carbon dioxide from the air. The pages alternate between a rhythmic, almost cumulative tale effect and factual information about the project. Back matter includes photographs of the villagers ha...more
I think this book was a great book to read. I really enjoyed it. It made me think of when I was a child and mad me vizualize things as reading this book. One of the qoutes that I like "where the paleta wagon rings its tinkly bell and carries a treasure of icy paletas in every color of the shape… That’s my barrio!” It made me think of when I imaged everything as treasure. I also really like how the book was in english and spanish. It give everyone to understand in both languages. If children cant...more
Nov 25, 2012
Kennisha Murray
added it
With limited resources for food, Dr. Gordon Sato comes up with a plan to plant mangrove trees. The author takes us on a journey with the people of the village as well as the Doctor and how he starts to help replenish the village. The second part of the title alone spoke so much volume- "planting trees to feed families". Kids need to know that everybody isn't as fortunate as them and they need to do whatever they can to help others. That's the most important lesson in this story. The way the poet...more
Review: I normally don't like life-event books for young readers such as this, but that's because I want them to stay little and keep pretending they are princes and princesses. But every kids needs to grow up and learn life lessons on their own terms. This story of how one man can change the lives of many is a thrill ride for almost and young reader. It opens their eyes to those real-life situations.
Summary: It has alternating verse and prose passages, and also invites readers to discover how...more
Summary: It has alternating verse and prose passages, and also invites readers to discover how...more
Audience:Kindergarten and up. Great informational book for young children.
Appeal:The 3D pictures are amazing! They are made from what looks like scrap materials so they are very colorful. The figures are put together in such a way as to make them seem as if they are moving! Repeating text that builds on each other in the same way as "The House that Jack Built" keeps young children's interest while informing them of important world problems. The "Afterword" contains pictures of the actual project...more
Appeal:The 3D pictures are amazing! They are made from what looks like scrap materials so they are very colorful. The figures are put together in such a way as to make them seem as if they are moving! Repeating text that builds on each other in the same way as "The House that Jack Built" keeps young children's interest while informing them of important world problems. The "Afterword" contains pictures of the actual project...more
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The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families shares the inspiring story of Dr. Gordon Sato and his work in Eritrea in East Africa. He originally traveled to the arid-coast of Eritrea to help fight famine and found that the indigenous mangrove trees could provide food for herding animals and therefore become a secondary food source for people. He worked closely with villagers in Hargigo how to teach them how to cultivate sustainable mangrove forests to the benefit of the entire community. T...more
The genre of this book is histoical fiction. The age group for this book is 8 and up. The bok is about a village who didnt have food but a scientist came up with the idea to plant trees to produce food and water for them to have in the village. I rated this book 4 stars becuse I think it is a cool that a scientist came up with an idea to make a village environment much better. The scientist that came up with this idea is Gordon H. Sato. This is a greatbook for young readers to understande how go...more
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Cindy Trumbore has been involved with young peoples literature for most of her career. A former editor in childrens book publishing, she now writes childrens books, edits books for classrooms, and teaches writing. Her past titles include The Genie in the Book and Discovering the Titanic. Her newest book, The Mangrove Tree, was released in May 2011 and has received starred reviews from School Libra...more
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