The Wonderful World Of Water Hardcover Book Review

Reviewed by Rebecca Wong

I’m always on the lookout for a good book for my kids.  It’s such a wonderful thing to find a book that is exciting and engaging and is full of interesting facts.  I received a copy The Wonderful World of Water Book by Sarah Garré and Marijke Huysmans and illustrated by Wendy Panders.  The book is a good size – it is slightly bigger than A4 and is hardback.  It feels really good quality with thick pages that will last the test of many little hands flicking through them. The cover informed me that the subject matter will span ‘dams to deserts’.  As a science enthusiast, I was already excited about what I might discover.  My kids reacted in the same way – their interest was peaked from the front cover – a win already!

Each page of this book offers up so many interesting facts and leads the reader through lots of different aspects of water; what it is, the water cycle, how it is used and its importance to life on Earth.  What I really love about this book is that it isn’t as predictable as you might think.  When we think water we think about the usual things; life in the sea, the water cycle, weather and drinking water etc But this book covers so much more and in ways that I hadn’t even considered.  It’s a real treasure trove of information.  Be prepared to learn about groundwater, water in the past, water systems, purification of water, virtual water and so much more!

The book goes on to consider what the future might entail and provides a page of tips for saving water – a great way to get children to commit to some actions at home and get their families involved.  In the current age, it is difficult to get the attention of children without the use of devices and apps but this book offers up a great option for learning.  It can be used as a reference book and can be read through in order to build up your knowledge gradually.  I have an 8 and 11 year old and initially, I thought it was too much for the 8-year-old as she spotted some big words at first that she was unsure of but actually, it turned into a funny moment where we practised saying the word ‘photosynthesis’ in funny ways and talked about what it meant.  There is a ‘dictionary’ page at the end that helps to explain the meaning of some of the more obscure words.  She then ended up picking it up spontaneously later on and told me a few of the facts she was reading about.  I also left it in the back of the car for a long journey and they both picked it up a different times and their learnings turned into a real talking point which really helped break up the journey.

The book retails at £18.99 which is a fair price for a really good quality text that will last years and provide hours of joy, interest, quiet moments and talking points.  I think it would make a wonderful gift but is also a great addition to the book collection at the start of the school term, to encourage learning and make it fun outside of the school day.  I highly recommend this ‘wonderful’ book and give it a 5/5.

Rating: 5/5

Stockist: Available from good booksellers. For stockists visit prestel.com
Product page hyperlink: https://prestelpublishing.penguinrandomhouse.de/book/The-Wonderful-World-of-Water/Sarah-Garre/Prestel-com/e613134.rhd