A Cool Drink of Water [Hardcover]

Barbara Kerley (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: K and up

An Italian boy sips from a fountain in the town square. A hiker takes
a refreshing drink from a mountain stream. Black-robed women in India stride gracefully through a field with brass water jugs balanced on their heads. Whether they squeeze it out of a burlap bag, haul it home from a communal tap, or get it out of their kitchen faucet, people all around the world are unified by their common need for water. Barbara Kerley brings home this point simply and eloquently in this beautiful and educational picture book that combines striking National Geographic photographs with a poetic text to show how people in various cultures use and conserve the world's most vital resource.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Preschool-Grade 2. Gorgeous full-page illustrations and minimal text give global perspective to the idea that water is basic to all human life. Photos depict people collecting, transporting, and drinking the liquid while the poetic text reminds readers that "Everyone/Everywhere" enjoys "A nice, cool drink of water." The print itself creates visual interest with verbs in italics and nouns in bold. A spread at the back of the book includes thumbnail copies of the illustrations with captions and a map identifying the locations of the shots. There is also a statement on water conservation from the president and CEO of the National Geographic Society. Enjoyable to browse and a stunning introduction to a unit on water.
Pamela K. Bomboy, Chesterfield County Public Schools, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4-8. Stunning photographs shine through this international tour of water gathering around the world. The spare text, only a few words per page, introduces the images--a boy fills a jug from a drainpipe; women in burqa balance brass pots on their heads. A concluding section expands briefly on each image's location and story, and a final essay by John Fahey, National Geographic Society president and CEO, throws out dramatic statistics about water conservation. Despite this warning, however, the book's gorgeous photos and minimal text misleadingly portray the earth's water supply as clean, fresh, and drinkable; nothing indicates, for example, that the boy bending into the river next to the shimmering reflection of the Taj Mahal is probably filling his pot with deeply polluted water. Nonetheless, children will be entranced by the beautiful images of a basic substance that connects us all. Excellent for cross-cultural discussions. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792267230
• ISBN-13: 978-0792267232
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 0.4 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #693,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I had two favorite pastimes as a kid.

One was playing dress-ups with my friends. We were fancy ladies with oh-so-complicated lives or pioneer women crossing the prairie. Once I was even a snake wriggling out of a snake-charmer's basket. As a teen I became very involved with theater, both on and off the stage. (For all intents and purposes, it was still playing dress-ups, only now with makeup, lights, and a stage.)

My other pastime was reading stacks and stacks of books--and sometimes, reading the same book over and over.

The dress-ups, the theater, the stacks of books, and, I now see, my work as a writer, have all been fueled by my life-long fascination with people and the story of their lives.

Come visit my website to see the stories I tell. www.barbarakerley.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book for beginner ELLs, September 28, 2009

By 

Ana Lado "Ana Lado, Ph.D." (Alexandria, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Cool Drink of Water (Paperback)

A rare find! A book that is interesting and useful for teaching beginner ELLs who are older. This book is ideal for grades 5 and up who are beginners in English. They can learn the verbs with TPR, the nouns with Realia, and can learn to recite its short prepositional phrases in one sitting. Teachers can link social studies concepts by working with the index of photographs and map. Students can study the difference between poetic style and expository narrative in the index of photographs.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good buy!, April 20, 2011

By 

Toni Webb (ENID, OKLAHOMA, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Cool Drink of Water (Hardcover)

I was impressed with the quality of this book. I thought since it was used it would have some wear and tear to it. I was wrong this book is like brand new.. Thanks.. my class loved it!