Indian Jadav Payeng has proven that each and every one of us can make a difference. As a boy, he began planting trees on a sandbank in the state of Assam. Nobody believed that he would succeed in doing so. But since 1979, a forest the size of Central Park has emerged, offering a home to countless animals and plants. It was not until 2007 that a photographer accidentally discovered the forest and made Payeng known to the world beyond India.
Forests
The Wolf in Underpants
In this witty graphic novel, a community of forest animals trades scary rumors about a nearby wolf. Some critters have even gone into business selling wolf traps and anti-wolf fences. But when the wolf appears in a pair of striped underpants, everyone rethinks their fears. This is a heartwarming story about understanding differences, told with an oddball sense of humor.
Vango
A breathless adventure from international award winner Timothée de Fombelle charts a desperate search for identity across the vast expanses of Europe. In a world between wars, a young man on the cusp of taking priestly vows is suddenly made a fugitive. Fleeing the accusations of police who blame him for a murder, as well as more sinister forces with darker intentions, Vango attempts to trace the secrets of his shrouded past and prove his innocence before all is lost. As he crisscrosses the continent via train, boat, and even the Graf Zeppelin airship, his adventures take him from Parisian rooftops to Mediterranean islands to Scottish forests. A mysterious, unforgettable, and romantic protagonist, Vango tells a thrilling story sure to captivate lovers of daring escapades and subversive heroes.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VIII, Issue 1.
Through the Woods
Journey through the woods in this sinister, compellingly spooky collection that features four brand-new stories and one phenomenally popular tale in print for the first time. These are fairy tales gone seriously wrong, where you can travel to “Our Neighbor’s House”—though coming back might be a problem. Or find yourself a young bride in a house that holds a terrible secret in “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold.” You might try to figure out what is haunting “My Friend Janna,” or discover that your brother’s fiancée may not be what she seems in “The Nesting Place.” And of course you must revisit the horror of “His Face All Red,” the breakout webcomic hit that has been gorgeously translated to the printed page.
Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron
One day in 1798, woodsmen in southern France returned from the forest having captured a naked boy. He had been running wild, digging for food, and was covered with scars. In the village square, people gathered around, gaping and jabbering in words the boy didn’t understand. And so began the curious public life of the boy known as the Savage of Aveyron, whose journey took him all the way to Paris. Though the wild boy’s world was forever changed, some things stayed the same: sometimes, when the mountain winds blew, “he looked up at the sky, made sounds deep in his throat, and gave great bursts of laughter.” In a moving work of narrative nonfiction, Mary Losure invests a compelling story from history with vivid and arresting new life.
Red Knit Cap Girl
With the help of their forest friends and the advice of wise Mr. Owl, Red Knit Cap Girl and White Bunny, who are on a quest to find a way to talk to the Moon, learn that they need only to wait and listen quietly to make their wish come true.
Moominpappa at Sea
A Moomintroll is small and shy and fat, and has a Moominpappa and a Moominmamma. Moomins live in the forests of Finland. One day Moominpappa is feeling at a loss. He has no idea what to do with himself because it seems everything has already been done. So he takes his family off to start a new life in a lighthouse on a tiny, rocky island far out to sea. It’s rather quiet and lonely at first, but as they begin to explore their unusual surroundings the Moomins discover some funny and surprising new things about themselves.
H.I.V.E.: Rogue
The leaders of the world’s villainous forces are being picked off one by one in a series of mysterious attacks and Dr Nero is forced to take temporary control of G.L.O.V.E. when Diabolus Darkdoom is seriously injured. He then discovers that Otto, who has now been missing for several months since Dreadnought, is leading the attacks. Under pressure from the remaining members of the ruling council, Nero is left with no choice but to issue a capture or kill order for Otto. Wing learns of the order and persuades Raven to allow him to join her on her mission to retrieve Otto. Other members of the ruling council, suspicious of Nero’s relationship with the boy, have initiated their own missions to eliminate Otto. Wing and Raven find themselves in a deadly race against time to track Otto down before the other G.L.O.V.E. assassins get to him. Their pursuit takes them to a secret facility hidden deep within the Amazon rainforest, where they face a mysterious operative even deadlier than Raven. Meanwhile back at H.I.V.E., the school’s own automated defence systems turn against the pupils and staff. And there is no one there to stop it.
The Ancestor Tree: 9
Saddened by the death of their special friend, the very old man who told them stories and jokes, the village children decide to go against custom and plant a tree for him in the Forest of the Ancestors.
Gorilla Walk
In 1997, Ted and Betsy Lewin trekked into the Impenetrable Forest in Uganda to see mountain gorillas in the wild. This real-life adventure story is the amazing saga of that trip. At moments funny, exhausting, educational, and enlightening, Gorilla Walk is filled with the wonder of nature in general–and of this magnificent animal in particular.Notable Children’s Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2000, National Council for SS & Child. Book Council, 2000 Notable Children’s Books (ALA), and Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children 2000–selected by Natn’l Science Tchrs Assoc. & Child. Bk Cncl.