The Water Princess

Written by: Susan Verde

Illustrated by: Peter H. Reynolds

Genre: contemporary realistic fiction

Awards:   ALA Award for Notable Children's Book, 2017

Summary: 

Gie Gie lives in a beautiful village in Africa; she is the "princess" of her family and has dominion over the land around her. Unfortunately, she was missing one thing: clean water. Gie Gie and her mother travel daily to get water from the well. They deal with pain and tiredness but continue to demonstrate strength and courage. After the water is gone and the family is preparing for the next day, Gie Gie dreams of the future. She anticipates the day her village will have immediate access to clean water.

Teacher Evaluation:

The Water Princess would be suitable for second through fifth-grade classes. I would use this book to teach reading or STEM. I would have students create a story map identifying parts of the story plot. We would use this to demonstrate how plot points assist help students to comprehend the story. For older students, I would create a STEM project where they have to build water filters. We would discuss the importance of clean water and what societal changes we could make to ensure everyone has access to clean water. 

I would also use this book in a secondary geography class to discuss differences in world cultures. The illustrations and storyline of this book demonstrate unique aspects of the culture in Africa, making it an easy lead-in to defining culture. After this book, we would go on to higher-difficulty stories that demonstrate culture.