Franck Prevot studied in Lyon then in Paris. He lives in France and divides his time between his family, his pupils, writing, and meetings with his readers. Aurelia Fonty attended the school of the Arts Appliques Duperre, Paris. She specialized in textile creation and design. She briefly worked with Christian LeCroix and freelanced as an illustrator and textile designer. She has worked as an illustrator with many publishers. She lives in France.
*Wangari Maathai's biographical details, including, of course, her
creation of Kenya's Green Belt Movement, are explicitly linked to
feminist and human rights issues during her lifetime in this
picture book. After an introduction to Wangari Maathai as a woman
who "carried out her important work with important people"—and an
immediate, affirming reference to "village women" as important
people—the text moves into a present-tense description of the life
and times of Wangari, "she who belongs to the leopard." Every
double-page spread features striking, stylized artwork in lush
colors, enhancing a thoughtful text. Predominant Kenyan attitudes
toward women are boldly laid out: "Who is this woman who confronts
them [Kenya's governing males] with a confident voice in a country
where women are supposed to listen and lower their eyes in men's
presence?" Similarly, the United States is indicted for its
treatment of blacks during Wangari's years of education there, and
President Daniel arap Moi is exposed as both an
anti-environmentalist and a man "who orders police to shoot at
crowds of demonstrators." The effects of British colonialism and
tribal differences are also economically folded in. The biography
officially concludes with Maathai's Nobel Peace Prize and is
followed by an abundance of further information. This slim but
emphatic biography stands out among others about Wangari Maathai
with its well-crafted treatment of political issues.
- Kirkus Reviews, *starred review
*Prevot offers a gorgeous addition to the several books already
available on Kenyan environmentalist and political activist Wangari
Maathai, with as much biographical information as the pages can
support. The writing is artful, clear, and concise, with references
to Maathai’s native Swahili language and the cultural connections
to the environment. This book provides students a beginning for
research on her early life through the political turmoil of a
corrupt Kenyan government which fell in 2002; it will also support
deeper understanding of how she earned the Novel Peace Prize in
2004 for starting the Green Belt Movement, an NGO dedicated to
planting trees, protecting the environment, and promoting women’s
rights. Fronty’s art shines bright, expanding the text with styles
that echo Henri Rousseau, Henri Matisse, and others. Of the other
picture book biographies on Maathai, most focus on the tree
planting rather than her life; this one offers appropriate
information about the political upheavals that influenced
Maathai.
-School Library Journal, *starred review
Dramatic and dreamlike paintings celebrate Nobel Peace Prize–winner
Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt movement. As a child in
Kenya, Maathai learned the importance of nurturing forests, and
after receiving her high-school diploma “at a time when very few
African women even learn[ed] to read,” she traveled to the U.S.
There, she studied the connections between environmental
destruction, poverty, and oppression before returning to Kenya:
“She asks that people think about the future even if the present is
harsh and difficult.” Fronty’s fluid artwork incorporates organic
motifs and African textile patterns to stirring effect, and
extensive appended materials offer powerful supplemental
information to conclude this standout tribute to Maathai’s
perseverance and hard-won successes.
-Publishers Weekly, *starred review
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