Anna Carries Water

PreS-Gr 1—Anna, the youngest sibling in a large Jamaican family, desperately wants to keep up with her older siblings as they make the daily trek to carry water back from the spring to their home. Her brothers and sisters are all capable of carrying large containers of water on their heads, while she has only has an empty coffee can and cannot balance it on her head. Senior quietly weaves her tale, showing the Jamaica countryside, the flag, and dasheen leaves without being intrusive. In fact, no mention of Jamaica or the Caribbean is made in the lyrical text. Staccato sentences punctuate the verse, highlighting the importance of water to everyday life: "Water for cooking and drinking./Water for washing dishes./Washing faces./Cleaning teeth." As Anna struggles to overcome her jealousy and unsubstantiated fear of the cows in the field, she is finally able to develop the inner strength needed. James's vibrant paintings will capture readers' eyes as they pore over minutiae, such as a fly on the kitchen table or brilliantly colored butterflies and birds in the fields. Little details—some of the children being barefoot, dirty dishes in the sink—will enable children to realize those in other parts of the world aren't as dissimilar as they might believe.—Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA