TREE BOY

by Shirley Nagel ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 26, 1978

A stiff, talky, pep-rally pitch for a tree-planting program organized by 21-year-old ""Tree Boy"" Andy Lipkis, who ""spends most of his spare time planting smogtolerant pine trees in the mountains of Southern California."" Tipped off in high school to the smog threat (it destroys the chlorophyll in pine needles, starting a ""starvation cycle""), Andy overcame big-business skepticism and bureaucratic obduracy--with the aid of massive newspaper publicity--to get his California Conservation Project underway. In seven years he and his five fellow Tree People planted 60 thousand trees, an impressive record held up as an example of ""people power"" here. Step-by-step instructions on ""How to Plant a Tree"" are incorporated, along with snapshots of the Tree Planters and a dubiously advisable appeal for funds or volunteer aid. The lift that a youngster can get from ""working with his friends on something important"" is undeniable, but as a model project the CCP is both intrinsically limited and uninspiringly presented.

Pub Date: June 26, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Sierra Club/Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION