THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES by Jean Giono. 1954 / 52 pages. *****

Jean Giono said the purpose of his story 'The man who planted trees' "was to make people love the tree, or more precisely, to make them love planting trees." To help bring this dream to life, Chelsea Green is collaborating with Global Relief, a program of the American Forestry Association. Chelsea Green is donating 5% of all the book's sales toward Global Relief's campaign to ease the threat of global warming by planting trees - millions of trees. By putting a message from Global Relief in the back of 'The man who planted trees', Chelsea green hopes to give individuals a way to follow Elzeard Bouffier's inspiring example and take action to replenish our precious earth. In that spirit, Chelsea Green and Global Relief have created the 'Jean Giono Award, to be given annually for the best tree-planting effort made by an individual. When you remembered that all this had sprung from the hands and the soul of this one man, without technical resources, you understood that men could be as effectual as God in other realms than that of destruction.