Wonder Water Diane Swanson
The author of Nibbling on Einstein’s Brain brings her animated style to the story of water.
With this richly illustrated book, young readers may dive into The Wonder in Water and discover just what’s in the wet stuff, from the tiniest raindrop to the greatest ocean.
There’s sufficient water on this planet to fill 325 million trillion big milk jugs. Start with our own salty sweat. It not only keeps us cool but likewise feeds the masses of microbes that live on our skin, repelling germs and keeping us healthy.
From sprinkles of sweat, readers may journeying on to:
- Falling Raindrops — Water from the sky may integrate life as little as an amoeba and as big as a turtle;
- Patchy Puddles — Nurseries for toads, bistros for bugs, or bait for the meat-eating pitcher plant;
- Freshwater Marshes — Where fish and frogs frolic, muskrats and moose mingle;
- Quiet Lakes — Roads for water-walking lizards; winter homes for microscopic life in ice;
- Fast-flowing Rivers — Only for the strong (salmon) or the clingy (black fly larvae);
- Salty Seas — Home to more life than anyplace else on Earth.
Young children will sudden intense sensation to this watery expedition with Diane Swanson as their guide. There is microscopic photography to amaze, along with images that heighten the engrossing facts in the text and sidebars. The Wonder in Water is stimulating adventure in one of nature’s most arousing and attention holding habitats.
From BooklistGr. 3-5. Swanson’s clear, chatty text is packed with arousing and attention holding detail when it comes to bacteria in the clouds, teeming life in the shallows of a still lake, slimy amoeba in a puddle, and much more. General data is enlivened with examples regarding everything from hippos and orangutans to globs of dog vomit, and the author’s informal voice will draw kids to the stimulating facts regarding the world around them. The awful data doesn’t warrant the numerous exclamation points employed in the text; the facts speak for themselves. The small, square design is highly readable, with broad type and lots of color photos and diagrams. Unfortunately, there is no bibliography. Recommend this with Walter Wick’s A Drop of Water (1997), and try it as a read-aloud for children younger than the target audience. Hazel Rochman
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ReviewSwanson’s clear, chatty text is packed with arousing and attention holding detail…. the author’s informal voice will draw kids to the stimulating facts. (Hazel Rochman Booklist )
About the Author
Diane Swanson is the author of more than 60 factual books for kids in which she’s explored everything from stomachs to science itself. She lives in Victoria.
