BOOK: THE PEOPLE WHO HUGGED THE TREES
AUTHOR: DEBORAH LEE ROSE
ILLUSTRATOR: BIRGITTA SAFLUND
PUBLISHER: ROBERTS RINEHART PUBLISHERS
PAGES: 32
AGE RECOMMENDED: 4+
My feed is bombarded with #womenhistorymonth posts. So this is my turn of joining, and this is an inspirational environmental folk tale that happened in Rajasthan. When the warrior Prince ruled over the land, there lived a girl who is very fond of trees. Amrita was fond of trees, and she enjoys going to the forest, just outside her village. She had a favourite tree, and she hugs and talks with the tree each day. Amrita grew up, and she had kids. She taught the kids how to hug the tree and the importance of the forest to their village. Days passed and Amrita suddenly sees some axeman cutting trees in the forest. She was so sad and asked them not to do it. The men said it’s for the Maharaja’s fortress, and she has to move. Amrita hugged her tree and didn’t let go of it. The news filled the village and all people came and hugged a tree. The agitated Maharaja, came with his troops to move them. Find out who wins by picking this gorgeously illustrated book.
I was awed by reading this story, and it was so inspirational to see how women stood in front of the Maharaja with so many guts. It teaches the value of protecting the environment and standing up for one’s beliefs.
Fact: This incident happened there centuries ago and the Indian government named the village of Khejare as India’s first National Environment Memorial.
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