From Pequeno Editor, A Book That Grows Into a Tree

To educate children, Argentina’s Pequeno Editor published a biodegradable book embedded with jacaranda seeds that can literally be planted after it is read.

By Dennis Abrams

As an article in the Express Tribune said: “Imagine sitting under the glaring sun reading a book without a tree for shade. According to Green Peace, every two seconds, an area of forest the size of a football pitch is lost due to logging or destructive practices.”

Now one publishing company is trying to give something back.

Argentina’s Pequeno Editor, as part of a project called Tree Book Tree, has created a hand-stitched children’s book entitled Mi Papa Estuvo en la Selva, or My Dad Was in the Jungle. It’s made from acid-free paper; ecological ink and jacaranda seeds.

And the best part? There are actual tree seeds placed in every page. So after they’re finished with the book, kids can plant the book in soil and it will grow into a tree.

Pequeño Editor’s website reveals the thought behind the project. “Everything we read is part of our mental library and what we are as people. So reading is rooted in us and transforms us: make us grow and change. When planted, the book is part of an action plan that is designed to encourage reading and environmental care,” it explains.

About the Author

Dennis Abrams

Dennis Abrams is a contributing editor for Publishing Perspectives, responsible for news, children's publishing and media. He's also a restaurant critic, literary blogger, and the author of "The Play's The Thing," a complete YA guide to the plays of William Shakespeare published by Pentian, as well as more than 30 YA biographies and histories for Chelsea House publishers.