A very inspiring and empowering book that was beautifully illustrated about one girl who didn't give up on her dreams and brought about monumental change even in the face of adversity. This is a book that will encourage standing up for your dreams and breaking past the outdated societal and gender roles that have been passed down. With delicious and flowing imagery, you'll follow Wangari as she grows from a young girl into an important leader of the Green Belt Movement - after she successfully receives multiple degrees and eventually is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I loved the quote: The potential to change lives is planted deep within you'- I believe it absolutely rings true.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

With the Right to Fight: Planting Peace, is an inspirational, illustrated picture book for children about an amazing lady called Wangari Muri Maathai. Wangari grew up in Kenya, living and surviving off the native land around her. She manages to win a scholarship taking her away to study in North America. But upon her return some years later, she is devastated to discover that her homeland wasn't the same. Plantations had been set up all over and so much of nature destroyed. Wangari stands up for her beliefs and helps her family and surrounding communities to fight back and this starts off with replanting of trees and grows from there.
The artwork is truly beautiful throughout this book and really captures what the author writes about and at the back there is a timeline of Wangaris life. This would make such a great book for any educational establishment.

What a beautifully illustrated nonfiction book!
The book beautifully illustrates the story of Wangari Muri Maathai from childhood to adulthood, where we go from Kenya to the USA, then back back again. Themes include the importance of nature, education, resourcefulness, imagination, community, ingenuity, and female empowerment.

I’m such a fan of the art style and the composition of the book. It flows, reads, and illustrates the story’s beautifully.

I think that this book should be read in as many classrooms as possible! I wish I learned Wangari Muri Maathai’s story and her amazing Novel Peace Prize achievement much earlier. This is an inspirational and informative book perfect for young readers (and adults, too!)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eGalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another beautiful version of Wangari's story. I knew of this woman from another book, but this one reminds me of the real deal. Not Wangari's life, but the wisdom she held. It is beautiful and inspiring, created for older children, with artsy illustrations.

This is beautiful story about environmental protection and following one's dreams, despite social expectations. These are both powerful lessons that all children should be taught.

Beautiful, moving, and incredibly informative. Even as an adult, I found this to be a tearjerker. This book should be required reading for grade school students. So many fantastic lessons could be designed around this.

4.5 stars

I absolutely love this. LOVE. Beautiful story. Beautiful message. Beautiful illustrations.

The only thing I found disappointing was that the message about poverty, war and the destruction of the land wasn't strong enough. The words were there but it wasn't shown visually. It was like they were holding back and didn't want to "shock" the reader with the truth.

I think the truth should be shown.

As a librarian I read *so many* children's books each year. Hundreds and hundreds of books to make purchasing decisions, make recommendations, and help design classroom curricula. I can say without reservation that this is the most well-executed children's book that I have seen in years. The illustration and typography throughout the book are flawless. They take an interesting story and make it visually arresting. Children and adults alike will be drawn in by the colorful pictures, the intricately crafted text, and the inspiring message.

Wangari Muri Maathai was not a figure that I was familiar with, but her story is one that will resonate with boys and girls throughout the world. To have a girl from a rural area where girls are not traditionally educated or expected to work outside the home rise not only to attain a Ph.D. but also to start a nationwide movement that impacted and improved lives throughout Kenya is incredible. Wangari is such an inspiring heroine, and she will show children that they really can reach as high as they can dream.

This book would be perfect for fans of Sonia Sotomayor's "Just Ask," Andrea Beaty's "Ada Twist, Scientist," and Chelsea Clinton's "She Persisted."

Trees and self-sufficiency are at the heart of this book. The idea that so much can come from something so small has been told in many different stories, but this beautiful story has a real person at the center of it. Wangari Muri Maathai is a name that a lot of people probably don't know, but through this book they can see the impact that she had on the world. In addition to the wonderful story, the illustrations bring you into narrative and provide comfort. Thank you #netgalley for introducing me to this wonderful woman.

This is a children's nonfiction illustrated book about Wangari Muri Maa'thai and the founding of the Green Belt Movement.

This is such a beautiful and important book. It discusses themes of respecting nature, social movements, hunger, women's rights, education, activism and societal expectations of women. Wangari's story inspires hope and strength which I think is so important to teach children. The writing in this book flows so well and the illustrations are so beautiful. It promotes change, women's rights, activism, education and respecting the earth. This book is an absolute staple for all school and public libraries!

I previously had no knowledge of Wangari Muri Maa'thai or the Green Belt Movement so this was a lovely introduction to this for me and I will be researching further!

TWs/CWs: Misogyny; Oppression; Deforestation; Drought; Food Poverty

What a brilliant book to teach our kids the importances of trees, forests & human connection to the earth!

I had not heard of Wangari Muri Maathai & this book was truly an eye opener!

Using Wangari from Kenya, as a little girl in this story, the author gives us an account of how her mother instills values in her as a child, emphasising that we all need to "respect" the land.

I am in awe of how Wangari's family was so progressive during those days & gave her an education. As she grows up amidst the trees & nature, Wangari feels as though she is one with earth & yearns to learn more about our planet.

Coming back to Africa, it's commendable the kind of influence she had on the women of Africa, making reforestation the mission of her life, creating the Green Belt Movement. Managing to uplift the lives of countless women & creating jobs that removed poverty, she went on to win The Nobel Peace Prize.

It's high time we share such stories with children & stress upon the importance of reforestation to combat climate change & bring about meaning to our own lives.

I think every one of us must read this book!

Thanks to NetGalley & Mascot Books for the ARC!

A great book with beautiful illustrations and easy-to-follow narration. It follows the journey of a
Kenyan activist, the first African woman ever to be awarded the Nobel prize, Wangari Muta Maathai as she transforms into a savior of the Earth. Her mother inspired her love for the nature and sent her to school at a time when women were only thought to be good at household chores and folding laundry. She finished at the top of her class and moved to the USA to pursue higher education. After returning Kenya, She started a revolution by planting trees, setting up nurseries all over the country - providing women with jobs, aiding families under the poverty line and saving the environment from rotting away. wonderfully summarized, well depicted biography. Recommended!

Great book with a really important focus!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Beautiful story and beautiful illustrations! I did not know about her story before but now I am interested in learning more about her life. I want to et this book into every kid's hands

The poetic flow of the words throughout the text add to the message of hope, dreams, and strength found throughout. The use of onomatopoeia early on engages the reader by bringing them into the story.

This story invites opportunities for further inquiry into various topics to include hunger, women's rights, education, leading action for change, and more. A must have for all classroom libraries.

You really can’t get much better than this book. It promotes love for the earth and getting to explore. It gives the real life story of one brave young woman who wanted to make a difference. The illustrations are beautiful and the message is powerful.

This beautiful picture book biography tells the story of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Muri Maathai. As the story explains, Wangari grew up in Kenya and learned to love and live off the land, after winning a scholarship to study in North America, she returns home years later to see that plantations had taken over her homeland. Wanting to support her family and home country she begins to plant trees and shows readers that change can start with something as small as a little seed. The story ends with a short timeline of Wangari's life. The pictures in this book are beautiful, especially those that come together in almost a collage-like format, for example, near the end of the story there is a picture of an outline of the continent of Africa and it is filled with a variety of different flowers. These kind of pictures are throughout the story and are really beautiful to look at. There is also a really beautiful illustration around the quote "always respect the land" which I think draws readers attention to this important message about caring for our planet. As a grade 3 teacher I could definitely see this book in my classroom library. I think it would be an excellent introduction to lessons on plants, poverty in African countries due to over farming the land for commercial agriculture, as well as earth day and demonstrating how to make change. I would recommend this book to teachers, librarians and families of children in the 5-11 age range. Picture book story biographies are great because they allow readers at a variety of levels to access the pictures and/or the story and can inspire the reader to dig deeper about the concepts or people described, if they choose, and I feel this book is a perfect example of that. I so appreciate Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

Thanks to Netgalley and Mascot books for the ARC of this!

This was a beautifully illustrated, easy to follow biography of Wangari Maathai. We love to include biographies into our homeschooling, and this one had the added bonus of explaining the importance of plants and trees to our land. I love that it highlighted such an important figure in a way that was accessible to my 5 and 8 year old. I recommend it to any kids who want to learn about Wangari Maathai.

Planting Peace/ The Right to Fight is a children's book story of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She was one of the first students selected out of Kenya to study in the US in the 50s and continued her education all the way up to PHD where she gained a doctorate in zoology/vet and was one of the first women in Kenya to receive a PHD and appointed to teach at higher education. Her story is great, and you don't hear a lot about her, so I'm happy to see this book to inspire young children to follow in her footsteps!

Thank you to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

The vivid art added even more vibrancy to the story of Wangari Muri Maathai, a Kenyan biologist and activist, Beyond the bright colors and fun patterns, we learn about the life of an incredible woman who used what she learned from her mother, along with her biology PhD, to bring positive changes to her home through tree nurseries and jobs for women. I would love to have this book in my classroom. (The format of the book needs editing to make it more readable on Kindle or print. But I’m sure that will be fixed before it prints.) Overall, I loved this book and would recommend it to readers ages 8-12 with a parent or teacher’s help.

This picture book is a wonderful introduction to an important environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner - Wangari Muri Maathai. It describes Wangari's love of learning and love for the planet and how that passion led to the foundation of the Green belt Movement. The illustrations were beautiful and inspirational. I highly recommend this stunning book, particularly for budding environmentalists.