Water
Stylistically and thematically reminiscent of Asch's recent The Earth and I, this picture book offers variations on a basic ecological concept: the importance (and omnipresence) of water. With simple, declarative sentences, the author runs through a litany of definitions, from the specific ("Water is rain. Water is dew") to the abstract ("Water is high in the sky. Water is deep in the earth"). Unfortunately, the cumulative effect of the "Water is" construction is tiresome; teachers and purists may object to misleading statement ("Water is what fish breathe"). The accompanying watercolor and acrylic illustrations are appropriately liquidy and abundantly prismatic, with colors bleeding into one another for a rainbow effect. The result includes striking, multicolored snowflakes, confetti-like rainstorms and striped waterfalls. Wavering between narrative and nonfiction, this title struggles to find an appropriate audience. For a more solid-er, fluid-presentation, see Ken Robbins's Water (Children's Forecasts, Nov. 28), a photo-essay released last season. Ages 3-7.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.