Children's Books--Content Area Themes and Topics

We Are Water Protectors

"The book is written to give voice not just to the people in the struggle to protect their sacred sites and water, but to the animals, great and small, that depend on a clean ecosystem. The stunning hues of green and blue water are contrasted by an array of exuberant colors." --Language Arts

Review Citation and Link: We Are Water Protectors. (2021). Language Arts, 98(5), 291–291. National Council of Teachers of English. https://cuny-le.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CUNY_LE/c5a3od/cdi_proquest_journals_2526905122

Awards: Randolph Caldecott Medal

Float

"A young fellow in a bright yellow slicker has a great play day planned despite gray skies. In fact, it’s even better after a down­ pour creates puddles and rivers in the gutters for the newspaper boat he has made." --Booklist

Review Citation and Link: McDermott, J. (2015). Float. Booklist, 111(19/20), 116. http://lehman.ezproxy.cuny.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=103268705&site=ehost-live

Video Read Aloud: https://youtu.be/TTh6ny7VY7I

Yo Se Que el Rio Me Ama (eBook)

"In sweeping lyrical prose--in both English and Spanish--a little girl describes her special relationship with the river she loves, which loves her in return. The river keeps the little girl's smiling reflection, sings her name in the rushing waters and cools her down when she jumps in to swim. The little girl is careful to only leave behind what truly belongs in the river's waters." --Kurkis Reviews

Review Citation and Link: I Know the River Loves Me/Yo Sé Que El Río Me Ama. (2009). Kirkus Reviews, 77(16), 879. http://lehman.ezproxy.cuny.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=44480370&site=ehost-live

Video read aloud: https://youtu.be/eLo8xU0AdaY

River

"Two children, accompanied by their father, wave as their mother sets off to travel 300 miles down the Hudson River on her solitary adventure. In the evenings, the woman writes and draws in her sketchbook, detailing her exploits after setting up camp for the night. Caldecott Honor Book creator Cooper offers short descriptive paragraphs that encapsulate the striking beauty and harrowing challenges she encounters. 'The moon climbs up among the stars. She is alone, but not. The river stays beside her, mumbling to her and to itself all through the night.'” --Booklist

Review Citation and Link: Owen, Maryann. 2019. “River.” Booklist 116 (1): 109. http://lehman.ezproxy.cuny.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=138423312&site=ehost-live

Video read aloud: https://youtu.be/GAwcrKAIBrU

I Talk Like a River

"In this lyrical and empowering picture book, Canadian poet Scott tells a story based on his own experiences as a boy who stuttered. In simple, evocative language, he captures the isolation, social devastation, and self-doubt of a child who feels incapable of communicating his thoughts and offers an affirming way to think about difference." --Horn Book Magazine

Review Citation and Link: Toth, L. (2020). I Talk like a River. Horn Book Magazine, 96(6), 82–83. http://lehman.ezproxy.cuny.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=146459861&site=ehost-live

Video Read Aloud: https://youtu.be/CAoiRX_ez1Y

Awards: Schneider Family Book Award

A River

"A sinuous river journey of engaging scenes is presented within a textured cover.  Readers follow the silver boat from city to sea." --English

Review Citation and Link: Marshall, B. (2016). River. English 4--11, 57, 24. http://lehman.ezproxy.cuny.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=116338579&site=ehost-live

Along the Tapajós

"Brother and sister risk the dangers of a flood and animals to rescue their pet tortoise. Siblings Cauã and Inaê live on the banks of Brazil's Tapajós River, one of the biggest in the Amazon rainforest. Like many other children, they wake up, travel via boat to school, and come back home. However, each year, when the rains begin and the river rises enough to cover whole houses, the entire town packs up and travels down the river to a safer location, leaving only their houses behind. Spreads with furious rain, similar to Daniel Miyares' Float (2015), signal overpowering change to the town." --Kirkus Reviews

Review Citation and Link: Along the Tapajós. (2019). Kirkus Reviews, 87(15) http://lehman.ezproxy.cuny.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=138013520&site=ehost-live

Mela and the Elephant (eBook)

"Phumiruk takes readers to the country of her birth in an instructive contemporary fable about kindness, set in a village in Northern Thailand. A girl named Mela sets off to explore the nearby banks of the Ping River, refusing to bring along her younger brother. "What will you give me if I take you?" she asks, but he has nothing. The decision comes back to bite her after she's swept away by the current and winds up far from home." --Publishers Weekly

Review Citation and Link: Mela and the Elephant. (2018). Publishers Weekly, 265(4), 84. http://lehman.ezproxy.cuny.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=127528292&site=ehost-live

Anna Carries Water

"Anna, the youngest sibling in a large Jamaican family, desperately wants to keep up with her older siblings as they make the daily trek to carry water back from the spring to their home. Her brothers and sisters are all capable of carrying large containers of water on their heads, while she has only has an empty coffee can and cannot balance it on her head." -- School Library Journal

Review Citation and Link: Shaw, M. (2014). Anna Carries Water. School Library Journal, 60(5), 94. https://login.lehman.ezproxy.cuny.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=95847959&site=ehost-live