Kids Can Press's CitizenKid series has brought world issues to the attention of young readers for over twenty years. The series is all about making children global citizens who are aware of how children live in other countries, of environmental issues, and of their own roles in making the world a better place. Because of scarcity, pollution, and waste, water is an important global issue, and All the Water on Earth focuses on its importance to life and in our lives.
Illustration by Madelyn Goodnight in All the Water on Earth, written by Rochelle Strauss
Using a picture book format, Rochelle Strauss tells the story of water: where it is, what it does and how it's used, why we need it, how it connects us, and what we can do to ensure that there is enough clean water for all. Her text is comprehensive and yet uncomplicated. Instead of loading her book with facts and maps, infographics and tables, Rochelle Strauss makes it into a story. It's the story of water: past, present and future.
Illustration by Madelyn Goodnight in All the Water on Earth, written by Rochelle Strauss
I love this format for bringing information through storytelling. Rochelle Strauss is an accomplished writer of non-fiction for the CitizenKid series (e.g., Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth, 2004; One Well: The Story of Water on Earth, 2007; The Global Ocean, 2022) and can tell a story in a multitude of ways. This picture book format is perfect for younger readers and will be a great introduction to water. (Additional references, including discussion questions, will help teachers direct science lessons on the topic.)
From All the Water on Earth, written by Rochelle Strauss, illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight
Because All the Water on Earth is told as a picture book, the illustrations are key. Oklahoma's Madelyn Goodnight, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, created the artwork with graphite, coloured pencils, watercolour paper, and digital painting software. She gives an innocence to the scenes of children playing by the water, in puddles, and on the ice. She also takes us to a well in Kenya, to farmlands and gardens, and to cities where water is used in industry, energy production, and more. The naturalness of her illustrations matches water's commonplace essence while still demonstrating the complexity of its nature.
Introduce young children to water in all its greatness with All the Water on Earth. They will learn and become aware of water's many capacities and forms, beyond what may come out of a tap or a water bottle. Perhaps with a new appreciation for water and our connections to it, young readers will become truer citizens concerning all the water on Earth.
Most picture books are thirty-two pages in length but packing a story that includes escape from war, near starvation, separation from family, life in a refugee camp, and troubles with gangs into those few pages is an accomplishment. The Banana-Leaf Ball’s story has all of that and even reconciliation and hope for the future.
From The Banana-Leaf Ball
by Katie Smith Milway
illus. by Shane W. Evans
When Deo Rukundo and his family are driven from their farm by war in Burundi, the child becomes separated from them. Rescued by a fisherman, Deo is taken to Lukole, a refugee camp in Tanzania. The camp which is not dissimilar from a village with a marketplace and school also has limited resources like water and food and the presence of gangs. Deo tries to avoid Remy, a gang leader, who steals and bullies but especially after Remy steals some of Deo’s carefully worked banana twine for the banana-leaf ball he makes and hides away. When a man arrives with a coveted leather soccer ball and puts the teams into Shirts and Skins to encourage a game, Deo is made a captain and Remy is on his team. With a little teamwork and a lot of encouragement, all the boys, Deo and Remy included, are able to put away their differences and learn a bit about playing soccer, making banana-leaf balls, and becoming friends.
From The Banana-Leaf Ball
by Katie Smith Milway
illus. by Shane W. Evans
The Banana-Leaf Ball is Kid Can Press’ newest addition to its CitizenKid series of books and Katie Smith Milway’s fourth book in the series. Like its predecessors, it’s a story of empowerment that comes from dire circumstances but told in terms of the children who rise above. Though most young readers will have no first-hand knowledge of being driven out of their homes by war and separated from family, as well as living in a refugee camp, many will understand the conflict with a peer that pervades daily existence. The message that play and sport can override that conflict and provide the basis for inclusiveness is a positive one that children the world over need to know. To further that message, The Banana-Leaf Ball includes notes about the real Deo and an amazing section called “How Kids are Learning to Trust and Include Others” which includes links to relevant organizations and descriptions of games to foster working together.
From The Banana-Leaf Ball
by Katie Smith Milway
illus. by Shane W. Evans
Award-winning American illustrator Shane W. Evans (Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom, We March, and The Way a Door Closes) who primarily works in pen and ink and oils with computer lends a simple power to the story. The illustrations are weighty but energetic with the strife of escape and bustle of life in a refugee camp. Colour and shape and even size help convey Deo’s situation, dark and shadowy when escaping and isolated, while bright and larger, coming to life when playing soccer.
Through words and art, The Banana-Leaf Ball continues to fulfil CitizenKid’s mandate of inspiring global citizenship but, by basing it on a true story, it also demonstrates the potential for good to come from bad and the importance of empathy, teamwork and resilience to further that good.
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Check out Kids Can Press' book trailer for this new book:
