March's Book of the Month--We Are Water Protectors

March’s Book of the Month is the 2021 Caldecott winner, WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS, written by Carole Lindstrom, and illustrated by Michaela Goade.

“Water is sacred,” a young protagonist’s Nokomis (Grandmother) tells her. So, when the black snake comes, whose “venom burns the land” and “courses through the water,” the girl knows she must rally her people. They will “stand for the water” and for all those who “cannot fight for themselves,” indeed, for the very Earth itself, and they must vanquish the black snake.

This is a story of stories passed down, of people who, acting as stewards of land and water, fight to protect a legacy that belongs to us all. The fluid text feels like a rolling, swirling river and begs to be read aloud. The illustrations, are fluid, too, with images swooping across the pages, images that both exalt and ground the poetic text. I don’t see a citation for the materials used, but they look to be water colors, or a digital simulation of such. Blues and greens, oranges, reds, and earth tones dominate the strong, yet gentle, artwork. Back matter explains both the author’s and the illustrator’s personal connections to the story.

WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS is a book which calls young people to action. To stand against destructive forces. Like the heroes in this inspiring book who give the “black snake…the fight of its life,” WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS may also inspire readers to take action against any “black snakes” they, too, encounter.

--Lynn