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BE THANKFUL FOR WATER by Harriet Ziefert

BE THANKFUL FOR WATER

How Water Sustains Our Planet

by Harriet Ziefert ; illustrated by Brian Fitzgerald

Pub Date: Nov. 14th, 2023
ISBN: 9781636550749
Publisher: Red Comet Press

For habitat, cleanliness, weather, recreation, health, nutrition, and life itself, we are indebted to water.

Each of the functions above is the focus of a different section in this very attractive ode to the uses of H2O. Each part begins with a similar rhetorical question about a waterless world: “Could we keep clean without water?” “Would life be fun without water?” “Would our bodies stay healthy without water?” “Would the earth have seasons without water?” Followed by the emphatic answers: “We could not!” “It would not!” “They would not!” “It would not!” At one point the book conflates weather and seasons, and a few verses don’t quite flow, but for the most part, this is an utterly praise-worthy celebration of water. Near the end, a couple of pages suggest watery problems—“man-made debris,” “factory black sludge,” and “old plastic galore”—but we’re soon back to the positive. A final double-page spread features abstract human figures holding signs labeled “Climate Change,” “Water Is a Human Right,” and “There Is No Planet B.” The illustrations are a perfect fit: Bright, clear, without hard lines or shadows, they depict lots of active animals and lively, racially diverse kids, including several who use wheelchairs. This book will work both for lap and group reading.

This colorful, easy-reading introduction to our planet’s greatest resource makes a splash.

(Informational picture book. 4-8)