FICTION

Hey, Water!

Hey, Water! illus. by Antoinette Portis. 48p. Holiday House/Neal Porter Bks. Mar. 2019. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780823441556. POP
COPY ISBN
RedReviewStarPreS-Gr 2–This simple introduction to water is an ideal read-aloud for the youngest scientists. Bold, beautiful, and equally simple illustrations are rendered with brush, sumi ink, and digital color. In addition to the brief running narrative, each page or spread features a word that refers to a different form of water ("tear") and descriptive text ("sometimes you slide down my cheek without a sound"). The book makes for a fun guessing game—children will enjoy figuring out, for instance, that "I stomp in you and scatter droplets everywhere" refers to a puddle. The book explores ways water can be found in homes, yards, and neighborhoods (in faucets, hoses, sprinklers) but also describes streams, rivers, oceans, dewdrops, clouds, fog, and icebergs. The final page shows a girl in the bath and her toy whale spouting sprays of water. Appended are accessible explanations about water forms, the water cycle, and conservation. The endpapers sport thick brushstroke waves in grays and blues.
VERDICT Both school and public libraries will want this striking first science book on their shelves.

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