WATER

An introduction to the most common and, for life at least, valuable substance on the planet.

Expanding on the twin themes that water is necessary and also “always in motion,” Boyle highlights water’s distinctive qualities—it’s the only substance on Earth that exists naturally in three different states, for example—and traces the water cycle. The author also explains how the stuff came up from the hot core in our planet’s early days (theories that at least some might have come from comets go unmentioned) as hot vapor, forming oceans made of fresh water, and that the oceans became salty as “raindrops wore away salts in the rocks on land, carrying the salts into Earth’s rivers and streams—and then onward to the oceans.” The role of fresh groundwater, or its scarcity, in agriculture and our lives in general is briefly explored, with examples of water-gathering strategies in northern Kenya, India’s Kutch region, and other dry areas. Following a reminder of water’s effects on our health and even well-being, Boyle closes by urging younger audiences to adopt simple conservation practices. “Every person makes a difference. Every drop makes a difference.” Miminoshvili uses appropriately flowing lines to depict water on the move in various forms and settings, adding a generic but racially and culturally diverse cast of human figures carrying water or splashing through it. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A quick but refreshing pour of facts and insights.