Water Is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle

This book beautifully blends poetry and science to capture the remarkable mutability of water. It does not attempt to answer every question children may have about the water cycle, but rather develops their appreciation for water and their sense of wonder, inspiring them to ask questions they may not otherwise have thought to ask.To describe water in its various forms within a water cycle, author Miranda Paul uses the repetitive framework, "Water is water unless . . . ," which shifts throughout the book to "steam is steam," "clouds are clouds," "fog is fog," "rain is rain," "puddles are puddles," and so on for ice, snow, spring (with illustrations implying run-off), mud, roots, apples, and cider. After each "unless," the author offers a simple explanation for the transformation, for example, "Water is water unless . . . it heats up," after which she poetically plays with the attributes of the water's new form: "Whirl, Swirl, Watch it curl by. Steam is steam unless . . . ."A few of the transformations water undergoes toward the end--like those involving spring, roots, apples, and cider--obviously require a little more explanation on the part of the adult reader to explain how water continues to play a role, but rather than see this as a flaw in the book, I view it as an opportunity for the reader to expand on the listener's learning experience. My 4yo daughter is now fascinated by the idea that roots are what enable trees to drink the water that they need to grow and wants to learn more about how roots accomplish this task. A well-written book, like this one, will serve to pique children's curiousity, leaving them with even more questions to ponder and ask than they had before. In this way, children's learning undergoes as much or more of a neverending, ever-expanding cycle as water does.That Jason Chin illustrates this wonderfully conceived book adds significantly to its appeal. Chin's watercolor and gouache illustrations not only aptly depict the various forms of water but capture the childlike delight to be found in each one. The playful pictorial narrative follows a brother and sister as they stretch to fill a cup of water from a faucet, offer some to a turtle, sip a steaming hot drink, marvel at the shapes of clouds, spot a school bus in the fog, race through the rain, splash in puddles, skate over ice, pack snow into balls, leap over a stream, catch a frog in the mud, pick apples from a rain-watered tree, press them into cider, and leap into a pond. I find myself, even as an adult, longing to join them in their boundless enjoyment of water.

The book’s poetry and beautiful illustrations tap into what kids already understand about various forms of water—snow, ice, clouds, etc.—and bridges those experiences into a full recounting of the water cycle. The book’s repetitive theme is about how water changes form: Water is water… until it becomes something else. This accurate and creative telling of the water story adds a note of suspense to each page turn. With back matter that explains more about water science and provides fascinating water facts, the book is a shining example of narrative nonfiction picture books that are engaging, fun to read, and tap into kids’ curiosity.

Love, love, love this book. Miranda Paul seamlessly melds poetry with science. What can be more perfect than that? This book is a joy to read aloud because it just rolls off the tongue. It was one of the books I chose to read to my daughter’s kindergarten class. I gave everyone a small apple juice box to sip on while I read this story. They all seemed to love this book as much as I did!I bought this book for my daughters before I started trying to write more reviews. I decided that I rely on Amazon reviews so heavily that I needed to pony up and start giving back with reviews of my own. I was just about to review a book written and illustrated by Jason Chin that I thought was the first book of his that we had read. When I was checking out his other books, I saw that he illustrated this fabulous book as well. We love the illustrations of this book almost as much as the words. They are beautifully rendered and very realistic giving us so many details to admire and visually explore. I remember at the time thinking it should win a Caldecott!Bottom-line, this book is just all around great!

I read this to my pre-k and kindergarten class when we were studying the water cycle, and it is a great story to show them the many stages of water and activities those stages can allow for us! The pictures are beautiful and just looking at the illustrations was a treat, without the benefit of the story, so it would be great to read to a child and then leave it out for independent 'book looking' time in a classroom or during a quiet time if you homeschool. Great book!

Honestly, such a clever book. I read it aloud with 4-6 graders after our unit on the water cycle. The rhyme pattern is so great and clever it’s almost like a riddle and I had kids thinking and guessing what the next word would be. Of course it is suitable for younger kids as well. I just wanted to say it’s diverse. Such a fun read!

We loved the lovely illustrations and the story. The book goes through each season and talks about the different states of water and the water cycle in a lyrical somewhat abstract way and goes into more specific facts and details in the back matter. It is so much better than a dry read about the water cycle in a text book or encyclopedia. I also read several reviews that said the book was halloween themed, which is ridiculous. The family has a black cat for a pet (as do I, but I wouldn't say I was a lover of halloween). Also, yes there is a jack-o-lantern on one page of the autumn section, but other than that... Also, another person complained that it was inaccurate to have apples ripe in the summer, however there are several apple varietals that do in fact ripen in summer.

There are some authors or illustrators that I automatically buy the works of just because I know that they will be fabulous. Jason Chin is one of those illustrators. This book is so beautiful, I enjoyed just looking at it. The diverse characters portrayed was a great touch. The text is also beautiful the way the poetry highlights the water cycle, the various states that water appears in throughout. I loved the fact that not only is the book itself a work of art but it's also a great teaching tool that works wonderfully for teaching younger children about a very important aspect of the world. A book that I recommend you get your hands on if you can.

In "Water is Water" wird der Kreislauf des Wassers vorgestellt. Es gibt im Hauptteil keinen langen Fließtext, sondern 2-3 Assoziationen und wenige Sätze, die mit "Water is water, unless it is..." zur nächsten Erscheinungsform weiterleiten.Die Illustrationen sind zauberhaft und zeigen mal wilde Spielszenen, mal ganz stille Momente.Im hinteren Teil des Buches gibt es dann noch ausführlichere Erklärungen zum Thema Wasser. Besonders spannend fand meine Tochter die Darstellung, welche Lebewesen zu wieviel Prozent aus Wasser bestehen.

Love how seamlessly with beautiful art this book ties the water cycle & how it applies to humans all together.

Perfect for age 2 and much older. The book suits the montessori approach with beautiful Illustrations and so much detail that captivates children. There are many points for discussion and several little stories happening throughout like the children playing in different ways, meeting small creatures and seasons.

Beautiful full bleed illustrations in a rural setting. The illustrations complement the text showing diverse children’s daily activities throughout the seasons. Children will relate to this book while learning about the Water Cycle in a fun way.

The Water Cycleに興味あるのバイリンガル3歳児に買いましたが、The Water Cycleの話じゃなくて、ただのわかりづらい詩です。途中で飽きちゃって、もうみないって。おススメできません。