Hey, Water!

This strikingly illustrated nonfiction picture book seems simple but works effectively on several levels. With its spare text and conversational style, it depicts a young girl as she explores the world of water, even addressing it directly, ‘Hey, Water!’. The book works well as an introduction to a science topic for young children. It also skilfully introduces the concept of one element, water, being found in different forms, stream, river, ocean, lake, pool, in different states, ice, snow, fog, steam, cloud, and from different sources, tap, hose, shower. All these concepts and facts are brilliantly presented in the matt, aqua-coloured illustrations with their tactile, brushstroke effects. The shapes and patterns of the water, the wave effect endpapers and the clear, pastel fonts are all eye-catching. The whole book presents a science topic from a young child’s perspective and combines playfulness and learning in an appealing way.

The final pages are aimed at older children, parents and teachers and give more detailed information on water forms, the water cycle, conservation of water and some fun facts and activities. This would be an excellent addition to school, public and family libraries as it combines themes of science and conservation with striking design and use of colour to appeal to a range of ages.