- Author: Thomas Locker
- Illustrator: Thomas Locker
- Year Published: 2002
- ISBN: 9780152163969
Science Topics
Minimum Suggested Grade Level
Maximum Suggested Grade Level
Summary
How does water dance? This book reads like a literary work of poetry as it describes each step of the water cycle. Each step is accompanied by a portrait or landscape painting. The book explains each step without explaining that it's a cycle- that is up to the reader to infer. At the end, the author takes two pages to list each step again with it's corresponding portrait and a full description of it's place in the water cycle.Evaluation
- Appropriateness: High
- Authority: Medium
- Accuracy: High
- Liteary Artistry: High
- Appearance: Medium
Questions
Does the book foster development of processes?
The book definitely allows for observation, as on each page is a rich illustration with a description of that part of the water cycle. It explains how water is involved in what you see and smell, and does it in a way that is appealing to the reader. It also discusses relationships between the water and wherever the water is at that point (on land, in the sky, falling, floating, etc).Does the book provide an opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions?
The book definitely provides an opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions. The biggest question I can think of is, "how does the same water play all of these roles?" With each page, a new question arises and then at the end of the book it starts over at the beginning, suggesting that the water moves in some sort of cycle. At the end of the book there is a thorough explanation for how the water cycle works.Does the book encourage children to think for themselves?
I would say that it encourages student to think for themselves as it does not come right out and explain how the water cycle works or that it is even a cycle until the very end. It leaves the student to wonder how all of these bodies of water are connected.Is the science topic addressed in ways that are appropriate to the lesson?
The book is written kindof like poetry, but I don't necessarily think that's inappropriate. The book personifies water as one being, in a way that makes it clear that water is recycled and reused. I think that it is appropriate to the lesson, it gives a literary aspect to a basic scientific concept.Is the content based on sound scientific principles? Is it accurate?
The content is accurate. I think that it emphasizes bodies of water more than other forms, such as clouds or mist, but that could just be because students are more familiar with bodies of water as concrete things. At the end especially, when the book gives an overview of the water cycle, the content is clear and thorough.Does the book distinguish between fact and fiction?
The book doesn't really distinguish between fact and fiction. If I were an elementary student, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you if the book was fact or fiction. It is written from the perspective of a body of water, which is inanimate, so it is clear to me that it is a fiction book based on absolute facts.Are the illustrations clear and accurate?
Yes! The illustrations are a definite highlight of this book. I especially appreciate the rainbow and the explanation of how it consists of tiny rain droplets. The water is the focus of each illustration. I do think, however, the water could be made more precise. It looks like the illustrations were done with watercolor, but this might have been done on purpose.Is the book written at the level of your students?
I think this book could be read at a grade as early as 2nd. The words are large and minimal on each page. The text has a flow to it because it is poetic. The book could also be read as high as 5th-6th grade. I think the reading level is lower than 5th or 6th grade, but the content level is there. So, for younger grades it could be literature study and for older grades it can be content study.Is there a multicultural component? Is it free from stereotyping?
This book contains to stereotypes from what I can see. The water has no race and there are no characters. The water doesn't even have a gender, and it emphasizes that water is everywhere and for everyone. It contains to reference to any specific stereotype of anything.Is the book free from gender bias?
As I mentioned before, the book contains no characters and the water has no gender. There is no gender bias. The colors are totally neutral, and for every rainbow page there is a volcano-looking page.Does the book show the close association between science and other disciplines?
The most interdiscipline that I can observe with this book is it's tie to literature tools. It is written like poetry, with meter and stanzas and if is full of metaphors. I think this could be used for a poetry study in which the students personify themselves as a part of nature and research it and write their own poem about how "they" work. This would require a good amount of observation and research as far as scientific content goes.