Tag Archives: Seeds of change

Planting Trees with the Green Belt Movement

Jen Cullerton Johnson, author of Seeds of Change and The Story of Environmentalist Wangari Maathai, is visiting Kenya to explore the legacy of Wangari Maathai. Along with a group of educators, scientists, and community partners, they are tracing the footsteps of Wangari’s life; planting trees, visiting elementary students, meeting with community members, attending university-led mini-lectures, and participating in environmental and wildlife conservation field experiences. Jen shares more about this experience in today’s post.

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Announcing the 2018 Winners of the Sonia Lynn Sadler Award for Children’s Book Illustrations

Sonia Lynn Sadler Award winners
Award winners Gordon C. James and Daria Peoples-Riley hold their awards, together with Sonia Lynn Sadler’s parents and author Jen Cullerton Johnson.

Children’s book illustrators Gordon C. James  and Daria Peoples-Riley recently received the Sonia Lynn Sadler Awards during Salisbury University’s 17th annual Children’s and Young Adult Literature Festival. Continue reading

Celebrating 25 Books Over 25 Years: Seeds of Change

Lee and Low 25th anniversaryLEE & LOW BOOKS celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and to recognize how far the company has come, we are featuring one title a week to see how it is being used in classrooms today. Today, we are featuring one of our most popular titles of all time, Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace Continue reading

Resources for Teaching About Wangari Maathai and SEEDS OF CHANGE

Today is Wangari Maathai’s birthday! Wangari Maathai was the first African woman, and the first environmentalist, to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Seeds Of Change: Planting a Path to Peacewhich tells Wangari’s story, continues to be one of the most popular books that we publish!

In honor of Wangari Maathai’s birthday and upcoming Earth Day later this month, here’s a list of the many fantastic resources and ideas available to educators who are teaching about Wangari Maathai’s legacy and using Seeds Of Change: Planting a Path to Peace: Continue reading

Planting Seeds of Change Around the World

Guest bloggerThis is a guest post by Jen Cullerton Johnson, author of Seeds of ChangeJohnson is a writer, educator, and environmentalist who teachers at an inner-city elementary school in Chicago.

Ashley Howey is the literacy coordinator at Briar Creek Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Last school year, she contacted me about my picture book Seeds of Change, a nonfiction biography of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai of Kenya. Brier Creek Elementary school wanted to do something different, something no other school in their district had done before.

The school community wanted to adopt the themes within Seeds of Change to be the deep focus for student growth, teacher extended learning, and administration professional development. In other words, everyone at Briar Creek Elementary wanted to be involved in change. They wanted the book Seeds of Change to guide them because they felt it showed how people tackled big problems and worked together, and most importantly how change brings out each person’s inner potential.

Brier Creek Elementary School hosts diverse learners from various socio-economic and multicultural backgrounds. The school is supported by Title I and is a year around school. Their curriculum mission is to “cultivate culturally ambitious citizens.”

“We want everyone in our school to own a copy,” Ashley Howey said. “Teachers, students, cafeteria workers, administration, parents. Everyone.”

“How many is everyone?” I asked.

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Remembering Illustrator Sonia Lynn Sadler

We are sad to share the news that illustrator Sonia Lynn Sadler has passed away. Sadler is the illustrator of, among other titles, Seeds of Change, for which she won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2011.

Sonia Lynn Sadler
Sonia Lynn Sadler with Lee & Low Publisher Jason Low after accepting her Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award at the American Library Association conference in New Orleans in 2011

Sonia was a passionate and immensely talented artist as well as a cheerful and kind person. She worked in many different types of media, as a fine artist, a designer, and an illustrator. Her words and artwork speak for themselves: here are a few quotes from Sonia from an interview she did with Education Insider in 2011:

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