Listen to the Wind, the Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth, collages by Susan L. Roth. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2009. Available now.
Susan is touring now to promote this book. I hear she was in Baltimore this weekend. Maybe she'll come back for the Baltimore Book Festival and I'll hear first hand how she convinced Greg Mortenson to let her use her beautiful collage art style to create a picture book version of his adult book -- Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a time.
Once there was a mountain climber -- who got lost and sick in Pakistan. The people of a mountain village nursed him back to health and he returned the favor by treating their illnesses. They called him Dr. Greg.
He noticed the children had no school. Their teacher only visited the village for a few days a week. They wrote with sticks on the ground. He left the village and returned with a surprise -- building material for a new school. The children now have books and pencils and paper and a school and a full-time teacher.
The illustrations are full of joyful children, hardworking adults, and the beautiful scenery of that mountainous area. Kudos to Susan for creating such a beautiful (and easy reading) version of this story.
The afterward is full of actual photographs of this event, plus information about the almost 60 schools he and his foundation have helped create. Everyone, even school children can participate by donating pennies. (It's not actually a plea for donations, but more of an inspiration that makes the reader want to help. The website for donations is here. )
More Nonfiction Monday reviews are at Lori Calabrese Writes! this week.
-wendieO
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