Water - that most precious resource

One Well by Rochelle Strauss, illustrated by Rosemary Woods

Most of us, I think, try to grasp large ideas by reducing them to manageable proportions. So the idea of the world’s water being likened to one well serving a village is a useful way of looking at water and the various demands we make on that essential resource.

This book is marvellously clear about how the water in the world works. Firstly there is the overview about where the water actually is. Then it goes on to look at how it is recycled, how much is used by plants, animals and people, how much is fresh and how much is polluted. Finally we can see by the illustrations how much demand there is for the water at the well and, perhaps most astonishingly, who has the most access to the well.

The illustrations graphically help in making this topic understandable. You will find information pages at the back of the book showing us all how we can make a difference in our attitudes to water and its use.

Originally this was published by Kids Can Press in Canada along with other books in the Kids Can Make a Difference series. The other beautiful and helpful books in the series to look out for are:

If the World Were a Village by David J. Smith and Shelagh Armstrong
(This title is also on DVD put out by Visual Education Centre Limited)
Tree of Life: the incredible biodiversity of life on earth by Rochelle Strauss and Margot Thompson
Ryan and Jimmy: and the well in Africa that brought them together by Herb Shoveller
One hen : how one small loan made a big difference by Katie Smith Milway and Eugenie Fernandes.

In these times we are all trying to understand how we can make a difference to the planet and these are all wonderfully accessible books to help students (and us) who want to understand and contribute.

Find out more about Ryan's well
and Water Aid

One Well is published by A & C Black London