Written By: Susan Verde
Illustrated By: Peter H. Reynolds
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books
Copyright: 2016
Number of Pages: 42
Genre: Modern Fantasy
"The Water Princess" is a story about the day in a young girl from Africa's life. This book gives a great idea of what it would be like to live in Africa as a young girl, having to go everyday to find water.
The illustrations in this book are very good and have a way of making the reader feel as though they are in Africa. The pages have color, but most consist of orangish brownish colors that give the feel of the desert or how dry it was in Africa. My favorite picture was the one where Gie Gie and her mother stop on the way to get water under this big tree. It looked like a regular tree you would see anywhere around here in the U.S., but in the picture it was the only tree for miles where they were. It is a beautiful picture of Gei Gei and her mom being able to get some rest and cool off on their journey.
Grade: Kindergarten
Content Area: Character Education
Standard: Patriotism
This book would be a great book to bring into the classroom. The teacher could read it to the children, and have a discussion about it. To prompt discussion, the teacher could ask questions like, "What is something we can be thankful for about our country, that Gei Gei did not have?" or "In what ways do you think our country might be different from Gei Gei's?". This book and set of questions could be used to help start teaching patriotism to younger children. Unlike children here, Gei Gei had to get up every morning and go find water with her mom. Though they always knew where to find water, it was a long journey to get it and it was never clean water. It is a great way to learn what it is like to live in another country and how great we have it here in America. Children need to be taught at a young age that there is a lot to be thankful for concerning our country, because not every country has the privileges we do.
**On the Side Note** This story is based off of a model named Georgie Badielz and her childhood. She now has a nonprofit organization that is used to help get children in Africa clean water!
LOVE this book! It is a great children's book to teach lessons. I love your prompt that you could use in your classroom. It makes the students think on different levels and in depth.
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