Rochelle Strauss, illustrated by Rosemary Woods,
One Well: The Story of Water on Earth
Kids Can Press, 2007

Rating: E*

One Well asks the reader to consider all the water on Earth, used by all the people on Earth, for a multitude of purposes, as coming from only one source - one well. The interconnectedness of the water we share is brought to life through facts that show not only how dependent plant, animal and human life is on water for survival, but also how threatened our source has become. Each page is subtitled and covers topics such as the sources that provide water to the well, the water cycle, our dependency on water for life and the threats this precious source is facing, such as pollution, over consumption, and increased demands from industry. The book finishes with ways to help protect the source.

Each page is richly illustrated. A page of text is juxtaposed with a page filled with short facts in boxes, either summarizing text or adding new facts, making it manageable for younger readers. The book does not need to be read in a chronological order. It finishes with a page of practical suggestions readers can act on to become "well aware", ways to conserve water, educate and inform others, and measures to protect water sources. The last two pages are notes to parents, guardians and teachers, and are a call to action to face the crisis that our collect well currently faces. Along with suggestions on helping to make children aware, it also suggests conservation activities that could be undertaken as a family or class.

The illustrations are vivid, beautiful paintings which tell a story by themselves, and present information in the form of details sometimes not present in the text. This book could be used in many different ways with learners from a range of grades.

Rochelle Strauss is an environmental educational consultant who has designed and developed education programs and consulted on international environmental projects.

Thematic Links: Climate Change; Conservation

Moira Kirkpatrick
Vol. 12, number 5
June 2007

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.