RIVERS

Where do rivers come from? According to the author, “A river begins in the mountains where raindrops fall on high hills or drops drip from ice and snow or spill over banks of lakes and ponds.” It is those drops that run down the mountain that form the rivers. He recounts how young rivers are full of energy, fast-moving, carrying dirt and small rocks and gouging out channels in the rocks, while old rivers spread out and meander, leaving behind islands and small lakes. Finally, rivers reach the sea or ocean. He explains how plants, animals, and people depend on the waterways and concludes with a plea for cleaning up and protecting the rivers from trash and pollution, and suggestions for further reading. The language is readable, often poetic. Nathan, who worked with Harrison on Caves: Mysteries Beneath Our Feet (not reviewed), offers stylized illustrations that are vividly colored and swept clean of distracting detail. They combine airbrush, watercolor, and crumbled paper or scratch art to add texture. Most striking are a double-paged spread of a black-and-white ocean liner slicing through a purple sea, and an aerial view of the intense green delta against the deep blue water of the ocean. Illustrations of people or animals are less successful, often stiff or fuzzy. An adequate introduction to the water cycle for early childhood. (Nonfiction. 6-8)