Mama Miti [and] The Crossing by Donna Jo Napoli

So I'm on a Donna Jo Napoli kick.

It was a conscious decision... I've read a couple of her books and liked them and just thought, hey, let's check GoodReads to see what else she's written and just start putting them on hold at the library.

I totally didn't realize she had written picture books.

The Crossing
5 stars

This is a cool little book with poetic text and awesome pictures.  It tells a [very] simplified version of the Lewis and Clark expedition... from the viewpoint of Sacagawea's son who was strapped to her back for the trip.

I've had a bit of an obsession with the Lewis and Clark expedition in general, and especially Sacagawea,  since I was a kid, so this was a really fun find for me.

Mama Miti
5 stars
(Illustrations by Kadir Nelson)

I had never heard of Wangari Maathai before picking this picture book up, but apparently she was the recipient for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

This book tells of her wise advice to plant trees, helping her native Kenya fight deforestation, but also helping each person she told to plant a tree with a specific problem.

Cool book, awesome paintings by Kadir Nelson.