Informative, attractive and alarming—readers will think twice before leaving the water running as they brush their teeth.
You turn a tap. The water flows: clean and, if not abundantly, at least steadily. You are the lucky one in two humans.
Mulder’s book will make readers stop and calculate. Not only does half the world’s population not have a ready water supply, but often what they do have is filthy—perhaps contaminated with microbes and arsenic—or plain poisonous. This account is particularly handy, as it goes back to the beginning, to the water cycle and the humans harvesting water: how it has been collected and distributed throughout history. The great Middle Eastern and European aqueducts, the deep wells, dew nets—truly feats of engineering marvel. It moves through the Middle Ages and, with them, the real start of water contamination and the spread of water-borne disease. Lavishly illustrated with everything from woodcuts to photographs, the book is far from downbeat and scolding. Much is being done to source and purify water, and much is also being done to work on the sanitation issue. Mulder writes with a clean, no-nonsense style that demonstrates that people have finally come around to realizing that only 1 percent of the water on Earth is potable and we must be careful of this resource.
Informative, attractive and alarming—readers will think twice before leaving the water running as they brush their teeth. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4598-0223-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
An intriguing package for curious readers that both celebrates and informs.
Fascinating facts about rivers.
In the vein of the publisher’s Amazing Islands, by Sabrina Weiss and also illustrated by Hyndman (2020), this volume describes freshwater waterways around the world. Opening with a page of general definition, Agnone and Hyndman go on to use more than 100 examples of rivers from around the world to explain topics such as source and flow, what and who can be found in and around rivers, how they’re used, how they’ve been spanned or channeled, threats, and gems, ores, and other treasures. There are plentiful examples of wildlife, human activities, and natural wonders, including caves, waterfalls, ice pancakes—even a river that reverses its flow seasonally. The Colorado, Tigris and Euphrates, Amazon, Yangtze, and Li rivers get chapters of their own. Each big subject is addressed in short, titled paragraphs set on colorful, stylized illustrations on a double-page spread. The layouts are varied, with close-ups and vignettes as well as maps and broad river scenes. There is interesting use of shadow and texture. The people shown are racially diverse. At the center of the book, a foldout map of the continents of the world shows all the rivers described. Sadly, the index doesn’t include them all. The text may be challenging for some readers, but the presentation has plenty of browser appeal. There’s an extensive list of sources, all available on the internet.
An intriguing package for curious readers that both celebrates and informs. (Nonfiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-912920-26-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: What on Earth!
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
This glossy, colorful title in the “I Want To Be” series has visual appeal but poor organization and a fuzzy focus, which limits its usefulness. Each double-paged layout introduces a new topic with six to eight full-color photographs and a single column of text. Topics include types of environmentalists, eco-issues, waste renewal, education, High School of Environmental Studies, environmental vocabulary, history of environmentalism, famous environmentalists, and the return of the eagle. Often the photographs have little to do with the text or are marginal to the topic. For example, a typical layout called “Some Alternative Solutions” has five snapshots superimposed on a double-page photograph of a California wind farm. The text discusses ways to develop alternative forms of energy and “encourage environmentally friendly lifestyles.” Photos include “a healer who treats a patient with alternative therapy using sound and massage,” and “the Castle,” a house built of “used tires and aluminum cans.” Elsewhere, “Did You Know . . . ” shows a dramatic photo of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, but the text provides odd facts such as “ . . . that in Saudi Arabia there are solar-powered pay phones in the desert?” Some sections seem stuck in, a two-page piece on the effects of “El Niño” or 50 postage-stamp–sized photos of endangered species. The author concludes with places to write for more information and a list of photo credits. Pretty, but little here to warrant purchase. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-15-201862-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
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