Trees don't grow on sandbars . . . but a boy from India grew a
forest.
What can one person do in the face of global environmental degradation?
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.
Rina Singh has sensitively retraced the story of young Jadav. In Ishita
Jain's picture book debut as illustrator, readers feel immersed in the
spectacular habitat whose existence borders on a miracle come true.