Sprouting Literature

There are many children’s books that share heartwarming stories of nature and why it needs protecting. But what if our younger readers could learn about ecology while practicing it? One Buenos Aires publishing company has taken this one step further. Pequeño Editor recently printed copies of i Papá Estuvo en la Selva (My Dad Went to the Jungle) that sprout a micro-forest of jacaranda trees, a species native to Argentina. Each edition is printed on handmade paper sewn with seeds and nontoxic inks. Once read (and re-read), the cover should be watered and left in a sunny indoor space to germinate before planting outdoors. The book's materiality echoes the sentiment of the story by encouraging children to deepen their respect for nature. As a non-commercial endeavour, Pequeño Editor circulated copies to various schools, libraries, and educational institutions in hopes of raising the public’s environmental awareness. Suffice it to say, it has been a success. 

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