With their straightforward blend of words and images, Weninger
and Möller
(previously teamed for Little Apple: A Book of Thanks) convey water's life-affirming force for the youngest set. But with little substantive information, the pair just skims the surface in this elemental primer. In the opening spread, Möller shows a young girl holding the glass in front of her. On the left, her cat appears curious. The text ("Look at this glass of water") invites the participation of readers. As the feline peers through ("It is so clear that you can see right through it"), its green eye appears to be enlarged. As Weninger describes life without water, Möller's palette reflects the change. Strips of textured tan, cream and beige paper form a mountainous backdrop of the desert, while an animal's skeletal remains appear in the foreground. When the landscape springs back to life in a stormy flourish, sheets of rain fall on a smiling green frog ("Luckily, we do have water: water that falls from the sky, water in the rivers and lakes and deep beneath the ground"). Later, bits of torn-paper collage appear as pink cactus blossoms, tender green buds and lush leaves as the narrator waters her plants. The artwork whets the appetite. But the lukewarm text likely won't quench youngsters' thirst. Ages 3-7. (Mar.)
