"The water you drank today may have rained down on the Amazon rain forest five years ago."
What a great way to spark a conversation about water, huh? Picture books can be great conversation starters, and One Well: The Story of Water on Earth (CitizenKid)
After writing a few posts relating to water last year, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon this extremely informative children's book recently, and just had to tell you all about it! It's a great complement to the other books I had selected, since it's geared for children between the ages of 9 and 12.
I love how Rochelle Strauss starts off by referring to "one global well - from which we all draw our water." We are, after all, connected in so many ways by water, as are all living things on our planet.
It's hard for children to understand that the total amount of water on Earth never changes, and that it flows like a circle all around us. But the fact that people in some geographic areas have access to all the water they need, while others barely have enough to survive? It just doesn't make sense. Then again, nature's not supposed to make sense, is it?
There are plenty of thought-provoking facts about water throughout the book, and the illustrations complement them nicely. I love the way the author has divided such a vast topic up into sections. Every time you turn the page, there's a different aspect of water to think and learn about. For that reason, it would be easy to break this book into chunks to discuss a little bit at a time, especially if you're reading it with a younger child.
I love that science, geography, social studies, and even math are rolled into one with this one fantastic resource. It's presented in a way that's pleasing to the eye and the mind, and the author even provides supplementary information at the end of the book to encourage readers to take an active roll in becoming "well aware," and finding ways to not only protect and conserve water, but to educate others about the need to do so as well.
Family members of all ages can learn so much together, just by reading a book like this one! And it's so important to talk about the environment these days...
Have a nice weekend. And don't forget to turn off that faucet!
By the way, this post is part of the weekly Nonfiction Monday roundup. Today, it's being hosted over at Charlotte's Library blog. Please be sure to stop by and check it out!
