Water Power

Children's Literature - Jamaica Johnson Conner

The "World About Us" series offers another fine source of scientific and practical information in this book which explains that water provides much more than nutrition and sanitation for the body, transportation for boats, and habitation for fish. Not only does water offer the previously mentioned contributions, but it also provides power which produces electricity. Oxlade shares the origins of water and its cycle, the history of water used as a power source, its use today, the contribution of tides and waves, problems with water power, and much more. Pictures, photographs, charts, and graphs add life-like validity to the text. The text is divided into two levels so an early reader can grow and mature with the featured information and careful wording. Text written for the early reader is larger and worded carefully for the child to easily comprehend the information. For example, one statement geared for the early reader is "Concrete dams are very strong." The more advanced reader's wording is more complicated, "The Itaipu Dam in South America has extremely thick walls of reinforced concrete. These walls hold back the force of the Paean River." This title offers a challenge to the growing reader while providing substantial facts and visuals to appeal to the intellect.