When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth
And poison her people’s water, one young water protector
Takes a stand to defend Earth’s most sacred resource
Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption―a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade. - Publisher
Community and connection are at the heart of this book. For human beings living in densely packed urban areas (of which I am one), it is easy to lose the connection we have to the earth and all the creatures that live on it, to lose the notion of balance and harmony and the interconnectivity we have with everyone and everything around us. When we do that, things like the the Dakota Access Pipeline happen and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe have to make a stand.
It's difficult to write about We Are Water Protectors without constantly veering off into environmentally charges paragraphs, but that's the point. Still, we move on to the words and pictures.
Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade have created pure art. From the first words, "Water is the first medicine," We Are Water Protectors wove a lyrical, story of people and place and what it means to protect what Mother Nature has given us.
The words are given more soul and spirit with the illustrations, which use flowing lines to imbue a sense of water flowing through people and through the land, which makes the arrival of "the black snake" more dramatic, because the soft, flowing lines disappear to be replaced by red and black and angles.
Final Verdict
I might have been too subtle about this, so I'll use this opportunity to label this book a Must Read.
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