John Steptoe Award for New Talent in Illustrations - American Library Association (ALA) A picture book biography of scientist Wangari Maathai, the first African woman--and first environmentalist--to win a Nobel Peace Prize (in 2004) for her work planting trees in her native Kenya. As a young girl in Kenya, Wangari was taught to respect nature. She grew up loving the land, plants, and animals that surrounded her-from the giant...