Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-This brightly illustrated picture book enters an already crowded field of titles about this topic. After a brief explanation of the water cycle, the author explains how reservoir water is filtered, mixed with alum to remove dirt, made "clean and safe" at the water-treatment plant, and sent through pipes to homes and buildings. The writing is clear and concise, the science simple and correct. Appropriately for this age group, there is no attempt to explain why water evaporates when it is warmed or why dirt sticks to alum at the waterworks. A small African-American girl and her pup add comments and spark to the scientific text. The illustrations look like slick, airbrushed, Saturday-morning cartoons, which make this offering less attractive than Joanna Cole's The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks (Scholastic, 1986) or Melvin Berger's Water, Water Everywhere (Ideals, 1995). The three appended experiments are old favorites that can be found in many sources, but one of the explanations is misleading. It seems to indicate that warmed water in a closed container does not evaporate, when, in fact, it does evaporate but cannot escape into the atmosphere. An additional purchase.-Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
The simple explanations of the water cycle and water treatment found in this book stick with a traditional journey of water from bodies of water to clouds to rain to the water treatment plant to your tap. The colorful cartoon illustrations include informative factual asides, but the suggested experiments do little to promote scientific understanding. From HORN BOOK Fall 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Super-simple text and cartoon-like illustrations explain the water cycle in this surprisingly informative, easy-science title for the picture-book set. JoJo, a cocoa-colored moppet, explains the whole thing to her grumpy dog, Willy. The author uses dialogue balloons to show Jojos explanations as well as Willys somewhat cynical thoughts. The rest of the explanation appears in short sentences in the clouds. The illustrator follows the text, providing visual information while adding a dash of humor: sun heats the water and the water evaporates and travels as water vapor into the sky; the cold air in the sky causes the vapor to fall as tiny water drops. The tiny drops soak into the ground and flow back to streams and rivers and back to the ocean. Jojo and her dog go rowing in a sink in a yellow slicker, play with a hose, visit the firehouse, a ride a hot-air balloon to see the water move from the reservoir to the water-purification plant and finally to the apartment building. One quibble: the text makes it seem as though scientists taste the water before they take out minerals and add chemicals to kill bacteria, which seems unlikely. The illustrator uses simple shapes outlined in black, bold, flat colors, and lively, expressive characters created with an economy of line. The author concludes with simple experiments to try at home. For children too young for Miss Frizzle, this is a good introduction to the water cycle. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)
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