Ages: 5-10 years
Cumulative tale may be good for felt storytelling.

The land in Hargigo, Eritrea, Africa is dry and dusty. With little rainfall, the livestock do not have enough to eat, leaving little meat and milk for the citizens. Part biography, part environmental success story, Roth and Trumbore describe the scientific undertaking of Dr. Gordon H. Sato to save this little town in Africa with mangrove trees built for salty water. With fertilizer, the diligent hands of women villagers, and the hungry stomachs of sheep and goats, the mangrove trees' leaves plumped up the livestock, thus providing food and milk for the families.

This story is part cumulative tale (for younger listeners) and part fact-filled story (for older readers/listeners). The fact-filled story is told in a start-to-finish manner, including a lot of useful, scientific data. However, the large pictures are much more suited for the cumulative tale, which may leave listeners bored and unable to comprehend all the facts without a visual point of reference. The artwork is fun and textually intriguing. The afterword provides an excellent story of Gordon Soto, a glossary, and a pronunciation guide, perfect for school projects. Both authors showed an interest in the subject matter, but do not have expertise.