cover image What Is a River?

What Is a River?

Monika Vaicenavicˇiene·. Enchanted Lion, $18.95 (48p) ISBN 978-1-59270-279-4

This nonfiction picture book by a Lithuanian artist opens as a grandmother and her granddaughter are seen on a riverbank. When the granddaughter poses the question of the title, the answers multiply, each becoming the subject of its own thoughtful, richly worked spread. “The River Is a Thread” describes the gifts rivers offer: “They take us on breathtaking voyages of discovery, soothe with their coolness, bring us together.” A spread called “A River Is Home” catalogs wildlife found in the world’s rivers; “A River Is Energy” tells how the roar of South America’s Guairá Falls was silenced by a dam. Pencil and mixed-media vignettes have a childlike feel that is elaborated in intricate detail. Readers come away with a sense of the wealth and strength of rivers through Vaicenavicˇiene·’s story, which twists and wanders like a river itself. Ages 4–8. [em](Mar.) [/em]