Where Do Rivers Go, Momma?

by Catherine L. Weyerhaeuser

Overview

Every child learns about the water cycle in school, and with the help of this book, they will come to love every aspect of it, from mighty rivers rushing downhill to the sea to rainbows formed by the sun shining on water droplets in the sky. Using pictures and language that children will understand and enjoy, author Catherine Weyerhaeuser combines her talents as a geologist, educator, and illustrator to describe how water moves around the Earth.
Detailed illustrations of watery landscapes with lush ferns and aquatic creatures will thrill preschoolers, and straightforward explanations of the water cycle, such as where water goes when it soaks into the ground, will satisfy the curiousity of elementary-age children. The final pages tell the stories of several well-known rivers and aquifers and the challenges we face in providing clean water to future generations. Beyond a simple teaching tool, Where Do Rivers Go, Momma? inspires its readers to become stewards of the blue planet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780878426560
Publisher:	Mountain Press
Publication date:	08/15/2016
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

CatherineWeyerhaeuser lives with her family at the edge of a lake in Minnesota. As a child she hunted for agates around Lake Superior and took family trips to the Rocky Mountains, experiences that gave her a lifelong interest in the Earth s physical structures. She has a BA in geology from Colgate University and a BS in elementary education from the University of Minnesota. While raising her children, she studied at the College of Visual Arts and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in the Twin Cities.

Editorial Reviews

09/01/2016
PreS-Gr 3—A mother and child walk along a river and discuss various parts of the water cycle. The narrative is in a question-and-answer format, with the daughter asking and the mother answering. Most of the mother's answers present the concepts in fairly accessible terms. Water states, river flow, the water cycle, and erosion are all explained clearly. However, the conclusion may confuse some readers. The daughter's response ("I want to be good to the earth so our water can be here forever!") seems to contradict earlier material about how "the water you see is as old as the earth" and just gets redistributed. The illustrations are reminiscent of patchwork quilts, with plenty of intriguing details for young readers to examine. The organization allows for a few excerpts to be shared at a time—a good thing, because there's a lot of information here to soak up. VERDICT A strong addition to STEM collections for newly water curious children.—Rachel Anne Mencke, St. Matthew's Parish School, Pacific Palisades, CA

School Library Journal

2016-06-22
A child's questions lead to a trip around the water cycle, with stops to examine erosion, aquifer misuse, and other hydrological topics.Weyerhaeuser's explanations are informative enough, but her distant illustrations and lecturing tone will keep readers at arm's length. Clad in rain gear, the light-skinned mother and child face away from viewers (except in the final picture) as they pick their way along a river bank or examine pond water through a magnifying lens while bears and other wildlife look on. Most of the way they're offstage anyway, as a view of our "blue planet" with tiny plants and animals within continental outlines gives way to natural scenes of mountains and rainbows, a glacier, a dinosaur ("How old is water, Momma?"), a delta, sedimentary layers, and stylized views of farms, factories, and clear-cut slopes. The child's closing desire "to be good to the earth so our water can be here forever!" conveys a misleading notion that water could go somewhere else. Weyerhaeuser's illustration style is naïve and childlike, its lack of depth appealing but also disorienting in panoramic views. A smooth if not very memorable ride. (Informational picture book. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews