The Water Lady: How Darlene Arviso Helps a Thirsty Navajo Nation
CCBC Review:
When Cody wakes up thirsty one morning, the glass beside his bed is empty, and his mother has used the last of the water in the kitchen to make oatmeal. Outside, the family’s big water barrels are dry. Fortunately, elsewhere on the Navajo reservation, Darlene Arviso fills her tanker truck from the water tower. As Cody’s grandmother tells him the story about the Water Sprinkler, the Navajo god who collects water to make rain, the “Water Lady” drives her truck from home to home on the reservation. Over the course of a month, she will deliver water to more than 200 families before beginning her route all over again. When the Water Lady arrives at Cody’s home, he watches as she fills his family’s barrels with clean water that will be used and reused conscientiously and sparingly: Many on the reservation will use only seven gallons of water per day, compared to the hundred or so used daily by most others in the United States. Ink-and-watercolor illustrations showcase the warm colors of the reservation’s desert landscape. This appealing and eye-opening tale sheds light on Darlene Arviso’s important work on the Navajo reservation. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Shonto Begay
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 5-10
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Environmental Challenges
First/Native Nations
Natural Resources
Navajo People
Diversity subject:
Indigenous
Publisher:
Schwartz & Wade
Publish Year: 2021
Pages: 36
ISBN: 9780525645009
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 363 McGinty