Our World of Water: Children and Water around the World

The pictures and information in this book provide interesting but very important information about the differences in water usage and availability around the world.   As the author stresses, in some western countries, no one thinks much about using water or where it comes from but for other people in the world, water is as precious as gold and must be thought of constantly.

A look into the world of children in Bangladesh, Peru, Mauritania, Ethopia, Tajikistan and the USA provides dramatically different perspectives on how water is used, stored and even brought into the house.  Each child presents their daily life, how water is used and respected in addition to a special activity or holiday celebrated in their life or country.  

For Barfimoh in Tajikistan, life as a farmer's family requires quite a bit of water.  But since there is no running water in her village, she and her sister must ride one of the donkeys down to the spring.   One picture shows her on the donkey with large cans for the water.    This spring water is for consumption but for the garden and crops, rain water is collected and saved for watering between rain storms.  

In contrast to Barfimoh, Lucas in Peru has a tap in his house but it is cold water only, and in the winter in Peru, cold water is COLD.  Luckily for Lucas, his mom heats up most of the bath water so they aren't forced to take cold baths.   Lucas's family has a small shop in town and a large alpaca ranch further up in the mountains where his dad spends most of his time.   Weekends are spent at the ranch helping with chores, filling water jugs from the stream and playing with the children's special pet alpacas.

This book not only presents important information about water and it's impact on our lives, it is also a fundraiser in itself.  

Age range: 8 to 12

Hollyer, B. (2009). Our world of water: children and water around the world. New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Co., in association with Oxfam.