Hey, water! by Antoinette Portis

A perfect introduction to young children about water in all of its forms and guises, will intrigue, amuse and enthuse younger readers as they turn the pages seeing what is next. Each page features one word and an illustration of its form, often with the young girl, Zoe, involved. We begin with tap, then move on to sprinkler and shower then move out of the immediate area to stream, river, ocean and lake. Smaller expanses of water follow: pool and puddle, and two smaller forms of water: dewdrop and tear are followed by rain. The illustrations perfectly match the word and image being presented, and will encourage children to think about things they have seen. They will be delighted recalling these, learning new words for the seemingly ordinary word, water.

From rain the text goes to steam, cloud, fog, ice cube, iceberg, rink, snow, snowflakes and snowman.

The funny, inviting illustrations lead the reader to the page that summarises it all and thanks water for being so useful.

This is a most useful introduction to the theme of water and encourages younger readers to look outside themselves, into the environment beyond to view the many forms of water that we rely on. A page of information, Water Forms and Conserving Water is followed by a page outlining the Water Cycle, then two pages of activities for kids to try.

A cheerful and fun filled introduction to the science of the main ingredient of our environment, water, this non fiction text is a delight to read, look at and think about.

Themes: Water, Environment, Humour, Non fiction.

Fran Knight