Enjoying Some Quality ME Time With Movies, Music and Books: reading to children

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Books: "The Man Who Planted Trees" by Jean Giono

Searching for inspiration? "The Man Who Planted Trees" by Jean Giono is a beautiful and inspiring tale about a man who single-handedly transforms a barren landscape through his dedication to planting trees. It is a "timeless eco-fable about what one person can do to restore the earth."

Story Summary:

Set in the early 20th century in the desolate and barren region of the French Alps. The narrator, who is on a walking tour, meets a shepherd named Elzéard Bouffier in a remote and lifeless valley.

Elzéard Bouffier is an elderly man who lives alone with his sheep and his dog. Despite the challenging and isolated life, he is determined to bring life back to the land. He starts by planting acorns, and over the years, he tirelessly plants thousands of trees. He tends to them with care and devotion, and as a result, a lush forest begins to grow.

The transformation of the landscape is nothing short of miraculous. The once-barren valley becomes a haven of greenery, wildlife returns, and the water sources flow again. The forest that Elzéard Bouffier has created is not just a symbol of nature's resilience, but a testament to the power of one person's dedication and commitment to a cause.

The narrator, deeply moved by Elzéard Bouffier's selfless work, visits him again several times over the years. He realizes that the shepherd's actions are not driven by any environmental movement or ideology but by a simple desire to make the land more beautiful for future generations.

The story ends with the narrator visiting the valley again many years later, during World War II. He is amazed to find the forest untouched and thriving, despite the destruction of the war. Elzéard Bouffier's legacy lives on through the forest he planted, a testament to the idea that individual actions can have a profound and lasting impact on the environment.

"The Man Who Planted Trees" is a heartwarming and inspirational novella with two (2) clear takeaways:

the importance of conservation, perseverance, and saving planet earth; and
the positive impact one person can have on the world, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges.

(Content written with the help of the ChatGPT AI tool.)

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LINKS OF INTEREST:

For the first tender years of my life (ages birth to 7 years), I grew up in the James E. Scott Community Housing Projects. Folks who lived there just called it “the projects”. My older siblings told me that we were poor so I believed them. They were older than me! They must know everything. Right? It didn't help that when I asked my mother to buy me certain things her answer was always “We don't have the money for that.”

So I resigned myself to believing that poor people don't have much to look forward to in this world. Until one day my mother gave me some books. My mother had a lot of friends who were school teachers and they always gave her books. The books my mother gave me were mostly fairy tales but they opened up a whole new world for me. The storyline of most fairy tales are universal and everyone can relate. The stories are about good overcoming evil and the main characters triumphantly living happily ever after. That gives a young child something to look forward to if they are going to live in this world.

Even though I'm now an adult, I still enjoy reading fairy tales. The world is full of them, so it's not likely that you will run out of reading material. Practically every country has its own wonderful tales.

I truly believe that all children, no matter the income level of the parents, or their ethnicity or their religious beliefs, etc. … all children should …

Number 1: Be taught how to read; and
Number 2: Be given a set of fairy tales to begin their reading adventures.

Do you agree?

If you agree, then allow me to introduce you to Denise McGill, aka PaintDrips, a fellow freelance writer and also a children's book illustrator. She has a few suggested fairy tales for you to read for your own pleasure if you're an adult; and if you are creating a library for children, you might want to add these books to the collection.