The Boy Who Grew a Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng

The Boy who Grew a Forest is about a boy named Jadav Payeng who lives in India on a large river island and loves trees. When each rainy season comes, the floodwaters destroy the animals’ habitats. Jadav fears that if the animals die because of the floods, the people might die too. Jadav shared his fear with his village and they said the only way to save the animals is to create more homes for them. They gave Jadav 20 bamboo saplings, then he canoed down to a large sand bar and planted his bamboo, hoping that they would grow to create more homes for the animals. He would care for the bamboo, water it, and watched his bamboo grow into healthy thick bamboo.

I loved The Boy who Grew a Forest because it is based on a true story. I think that books about true stories are fascinating. I like learning about things that actually happen. I think Jadav is like the guardian of the forest. I loved the illustrations, especially how the bamboo is drawn. I would recommend The Boy who Grew a Forest to kids who like nature, who like learning about real people and who are maybe growing their own garden.