water

Almost Nothing, Yet Everything by Hiroshi Osada

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Cover image for Almost Nothing Yet Everything.

Almost Nothing, Yet Everything by Hiroshi Osada, illustrated by Ryoji Arai (9781592703579)

The author/illustrator team who created Every Color of Light returns with a picture book celebrates a different element: water. A parent and child head off on a journey along the waterways. Water has no color of its own, but can be any color based on where it is. It forms to any shape, but you can’t slice it or hold it in your hands. It reflects us back when we look into it and also the sky and clouds. It flows, rains, cascades and overflows. It is simple, but vital to life on earth.

Translated from the original Japanese, this picture book is beautifully poetic. It looks at the many aspects of water through the eyes of a child who is interacting with it on a journey along the river. The ending of the book adds a child’s question about whether water is the pee-pee of the gods. After such a lyrical poem, the question is marvelous in its honesty, simplicity and wonder.

Arai’s illustrations are exceptional. Filled with the beauty of water, they capture it both in its impact on landscapes and as it flows through one’s fingers. The large landscapes are deep green and dramatic while the close ups are personal and capture small moments of discovery. The combination of the two make the importance of water in our lives clear.

Another winning elemental picture book from Japan. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy provided by Enchanted Lion Books.

Blue Floats Away by Travis Jonker

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Cover image

Blue Floats Away by Travis Jonker, illustrated by Grant Snider (9781419744235)

Little Blue is an iceberg who lived with his parents near the North Pole. Then one day, he broke free and floated away. As he floated, Blue began to see new things like sharks in the water and sailboats. His new friends helped him chart a way to use the currents to get back home. But before he could return, something happened to Blue. He started to shrink until he disappeared entirely. Blue mixed with the ocean water and eventually evaporated and condensed into something new: a cloud. Once again, Blue made some new friends in the sky and they helped him head back home. Were his parents ever surprised to see what he had become!

Jonker writes a lovely and simple story here that is entirely engaging. It’s a clever look at both climate change and the water cycle without any sort of lecturing. The climate change piece is handled in a way that demonstrates changes but without being frightening, instead offering a sense that one can return home again successfully even after one has grown and changed after leaving home.

Snider’s illustrations are striking. They use deep colors for sky and sea, creating waves, bright days of tangerine and pink, and nights of purple and black. The cut paper format works particularly well, creating strong shapes that will work well for sharing aloud with a group.

A water cycle book that is a pleasure to drink in. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Abrams Books for Young Readers.

The Water Lady: How Darlene Arviso Helps a Thirsty Navajo Nation by Alice B. McGinty

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Cover image

The Water Lady: How Darlene Arviso Helps a Thirsty Navajo Nation by Alice B. McGinty, illustrated by Shonto Begay (9780525645009)

Cody, a child living in the Navajo Nation, wakes up thirsty. The bucket in the kitchen is empty and so are all of the water barrels outside. This is the only water that Cody and his family have. Meanwhile, Darlene Arviso is getting ready to work. She has running water in her trailer, but many in the Navajo Nation do not. She climbs aboard the school bus she drives and delivers students to school. Then she heads to her other job. She fills the yellow tanker truck with water from the water tower and heads out onto the road once more. She drives many miles through the mesas, steep hills and valleys. Eventually, she reaches Cody’s home where she fills the water barrels. Over the course of a month, Darlene delivers water to over 200 families and then starts over again.

McGinty offers a glimpse into the story of one woman and her hard work that allows people on the Navajo Nation to survive without running water. At the same time, she also speaks to the hardship of lives lived without modern conveniences and the worry that can create in children like Cody. Throughout the book, Darlene is treated as the hero she is, a critical link to drinking water for families who ration it, using a fraction of what modern families tend to use.

Begay’s art captures the beauty of the Navajo Nation by showing many landscapes full of purple, blue and yellow light. Using watercolor washes to fill the background, he creates moments of worry, tenacity and joy as Darlene finally reaches them with water.

A powerful look at modern Navajos and the impact of community in the face of poverty. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Schwartz & Wade.

All Along the River by Magnus Weightman

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All Along the River by Magnus Weightman

All Along the River by Magnus Weightman (9781605375182)

The journey following the river and waterway begins with Bunny losing her rubber ducky into the flow of the stream from the glacier near their home. She and her brothers hop into their boat to catch up to the toy. Soon they are floating past a pine forest, filled with other animals on picnics, racing motorcycles, kayaking, cycling, hiking, and much more. The river moves past farmland full of cows and horses, then spills into a huge lake where it is still hard to glimpse the toy floating. Look closely! After a glorious waterfall, the scene moves to a medieval town and European castles. Then a factory appears, pumping steam and water. Rain starts and the river slows to explore small islands. Windmills and tulips appear until a harbor is reached with a broad sea. Finally the toy is caught again. But what other stories did you see along the way?

This thoroughly Dutch picture book is a very entertaining seek-and-find book that is complicated and funny. Readers will need to lean in closely and read the book multiple times to follow all of the clever story arcs contained in the book. Nicely, Weightman outlines some of the ones to watch for in introductory pages.

The book does have words, but they are nearly unnecessary as the real star of the book are the incredibly detailed landscapes filled with foxes, rabbits, bears, pigs, and lots of other animals. Throughout the action, there are lovely moments of blissful floating, meeting new people, and a strong sense of a large community together.

An exceptional seek-and-find book with a European flair. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Clavis.

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

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We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade (9781250203557)

Two indigenous book creators have created a picture book that celebrates the North American indigenous battles to protect our water. Water is the the first medicine; it is where we all come from and nourishes us in the womb and on earth. There is talk of a black snake that will spoil the water, poisoning it. The black snake had been foretold for many years, and now it is here. Courage is the answer to it and the willingness to stand up and insist that water be protected. Nature cannot speak for itself, so we must speak and fight on its behalf. We can all be water protectors.

Lindstrom has written a book that calls out to be shared aloud. She has used an effective refrain: “We stand/ With our songs/ And our drums./ We are still here.” The importance of standing up and of Native people being visible as modern members of our society is vital here. The call to action in this picture book is also clarion clear and incredibly empowering. This book explains to the youngest children what the protests on Native lands are all about and why they are vital to all of us.

Goade’s illustrations are done in watercolor that washes across the pages in waves, swirls, and skies. The colors are deep and dynamic, showing nature in all of its beauty and demonstrating page after page what we are fighting to protect.

Strong and important. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Roaring Brook Press.

Review: Nya’s Long Walk by Linda Sue Park

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Nya's Long Walk by Linda Sue Park

Nya’s Long Walk by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (9781328781338)

This is a companion picture book to the author’s novel A Long Walk to Water. It shows the plight of people in the South Sudan as they search for clean and safe water sources within walking distance of their homes. The book focuses on Nya and her little sister Akeer. The two head out on a two-hour walk to get water for their family. But today, Akeer is not merry and active along the way. She drags behind and eventually is revealed to be sick and unable to walk any farther. It is a two-hour walk back home, and Nya has to dump much of the precious water back out to be able to also carry Akeer on her back. She finds that even when she thinks she can’t make it all the way back to the village, she can take one more step.

Park’s writing is captivating in picture book format, a lovely combination of pared down writing with dramatic content. Readers will believe that Akeer is simply going slowly at first, until her waterborne illness is revealed. The difficult decision to leave just enough water behind to make the walk possible is gut wrenching. The long and difficult walk is a gripping series of pages that show human resilience and strength vividly.

Pinkney’s art is full of movement and lines. They twirl around the characters who stand out on the page that has bright sunlight and brown dirt. The lines form halos around both of the girls, dancing on to mark their path and show the way.

A look at the impact of unclean water and the health crisis happening in South Sudan, this book also offers solutions. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis

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Hey, Water by Antoinette Portis

Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis (9780823441556)

This picture book takes a look at water in our lives. It includes rivers and lakes, puddles and streams. There is water we drink from a glass and water that we bathe in. Water is also in snow and ice, steam, clouds and fog. The little girl who leads readers through the exploration of water also thinks about water being inside of her and making up part of her too. Told in short sentences that make this ideal to use with preschoolers learning about the water cycle, the book ends with deeper looks at water, the cycle and how to conserve water yourself.

The book has a jaunty and energetic tone, inviting readers to explore water around themselves too. The book pairs its short sentences with larger words that tell what is being described and invite young listeners to guess and interact with the images and text. Portis’ illustrations are filled with blues and greens that range from deep lake blue to the lightest of ice blues. White and gray add to the color palette with rain, snow and fog.

A welcome addition to STEM books for preschoolers, this one is a refreshing drink on a hot day. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy provided by Neal Porter Books.

Review: The Biggest Puddle in the World by Mark Lee

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The Biggest Puddle in the World by Mark Lee

The Biggest Puddle in the World by Mark Lee, illustrated by Nathalie Dion (9781554989799)

A little girl and her brother Charlie were staying with their grandparents for six days. On the first day, the spent time exploring the big old house. Then it started to rain. It rained the entire second day, as they continued to explore the house. It rained the entire third day, which they spent playing dress-up. The girl asked her grandfather, Big T, where the rain comes from. He promised to show her when the rain stopped and when they had found the biggest puddle. The next day, the sun was out and the children joined their grandfather outside. On their walk to find the biggest puddle, they explored small puddles, a stream, a pond and finally found the sea! Along the way, their grandfather explained the water cycle with evaporation, the clouds, rain and bodies of water.

Lee combines a science lesson with a fictional picture book very successfully here. The initial story of children visiting grandparents is filled with lovely moments of play and connection. The children may be bored at times, but they also find ways to spend their time even as rain comes down all around the house. When the sun returns, the world opens up to them and their adventures becomes less imagination and more real. The facts shared about the water cycle are shown as part of their walk and a natural conversation. Dion’s illustrations are light and filled with a sense of movement and air. The gray rainy days spent inside contrast beautifully with the sunshine of the outdoor pages.

A quiet picture book about family, weather and water. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Groundwood Books.

Review: I Am Farmer by Miranda Paul

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i am farmer by miranda paul

I Am Farmer: Growing an Environmental Movement in Cameroon by Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon (9781512449143)

When Tantoh was young, he visited his grandmother’s farm and tried to plant onions on his own. They shriveled and never grew, but it inspired him to learn more about all sorts of things. As a teen, his father got him his how shovel and gardening supplies even though his father was ill. Tantoh is called Farmer by his classmates and takes pride in it, even writing it on his school uniform. His brother encourages him not to be a farmer, wanting him to get a good job in an office with high scores on his exam. But Tantoh is drawn to be a farmer and deliberately fails his exams. He starts working on the land and someone pays for him to go to college and study agriculture. At college, Tantoh contracts typhoid and it takes seven years for him to fully recover. This shows him the value of clean water. He goes to the  United States to study, returning to Cameroon to build gardens that will hold water in the soil and a catchment to capture spring water for a village. One project leads to another and now Farmer Tantoh has many young farmers wanting to learn from him.

This nonfiction picture book offers a close and personal look at an environmental hero who changed the face of Cameroon and brought water conservation and clean drinking water to his country. Farmer was clearly pressured as a young man not to follow his dreams of being a farmer, so this book looks at following one’s dreams and having the ability to live the life you wish to lead. The book also looks at barriers to his success such as his battle with typhoid, which also serves to speak to his strength, courage and resilience.

The illustrations in the book are done in mixed media with paper collage, paint, pen and pencil. The images range from the hills of Cameroon to images of Tantoh as a child, student and adult. The pictures are filled with bright colors, strong shapes and vibrant design.

A look at a man who changed his country by following his dream. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Millbrook Press.