Water Can Be

Water Can Be… written by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Violeta Dabija (2014)

Today is a rainy, stormy, Monday. It is in fact, a day to enjoy Laura Purdie Salas’ Water Can Be… This lovely book is a perfectly written poem extolling the virtues of water. When we are sometimes drawn into complaining about the rain or grumbling about the ice or snow or fog, it’s good to remember the rich gifts of water. Laura Purdie Salas reminds us of these with her words. She captures the essence of water through spring into summer and fall into winter. Savor the phrases ‘tadpole hatcher’ ‘otter feeder’ ‘rainbow jeweler’ ‘fire snuffer’ and ‘salmon highway’.

The cover art by Violeta Dabija draws you into a world of water with its playful frogs and lilypads. It would be impossible to choose a favorite, but I must say I do love the winter spread for ‘Storm creator, Decorator’ where we see the effects of frozen water blowing in the air and clinging to the bare tree branches on the city streets and from inside a warm and cozy home through the frosted windowpane. Beautiful! Then again, if I could purchase just one page to decorate my wall it might be the whimsical otter clutching a fish.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy as soon as you can!

I just learned of this today, Laura Purdie Salas is sharing a percentage of her royalties from the sales of Water Can Be… with Water Aid, a non-profit organization dedicated to making sure children everywhere have access to clean safe water. You can learn more about this at her website. 

http://www.laurasalas.com/blog/books/hallie-tamez/#comment-16898