Review by Booklist Review
This creative reinterpretation of the water cycle takes the perspective of three droplets of water. The personified droplets have various adventures. Their ocean adventures begin long ago in the prehistoric period, when "trilobites crept across the sea floor, clad in fancy armor. . . . Then, a fish called the coelacanth appeared." At this time, the three droplets then go their separate ways. The first droplet, or oldest brother, heads for the ocean's surface, where he evaporates, encounters dinosaurs and volcanoes, and eventually becomes part of a glacier. The second droplet, or middle brother, burrows deep into the earth, eventually helping to form a cave. The third and final droplet, or youngest brother, waters the grass that is eaten by a cow. He becomes part of the cow's milk, is drunk by a young child, and exits the child's body as urine. Stylized illustrations help give the brothers personality and bring their adventures to life. By the end, the three brothers are reunited in the ocean and ready to continue their water cycle adventures.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This Korean import adds a mythological spin to its explanation of how water explores "the world in different forms and ways." In elegant yet straightforward prose ("Trilobites crept across the sea floor, clad in fancy armor. Ammonites glided past, flaunting their spiral shells"), biologist Lee follows the three water drop brothers, who are personified with simple, finely drawn features. They show how water affects weather (cloud formation, snowflakes, and more) through different eras, from dinosaurs to the Ice Age; how water weathers rock, forms underground caves, and joins rivers and other bodies of water; and how water travels through life forms, including cows and humans. BolognaRagazzi Award winner Yoon contributes boldly colored art, adding dimension with distinctive cut shapes and myriad patterns. A buoyant introduction to water's far-reaching influence. Ages 6--8. (Mar.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1--4--The story of three drops of water traveling through the water cycle is shown in brightly colored illustrations and a simple story. Each of the three drops follows one of three different paths out of a cloud. The oldest water drop finds himself frozen in a prehistoric glacier. The middle water drop brother slips underground into the water table, comes back above ground in a watering hole, and ends up in a river drifting out to sea. The youngest water drop brother gets sucked up by plant roots and makes his way through a cow and little boy before joining his brothers back in the ocean. Children will enjoy seeing the different paths that water can take in the water cycle. Caregivers and educators will find this text a way to introduce the water cycle to young children. Told in a narrative nonfiction style, this story and the colorful illustrations will appeal to young children. VERDICT A worthy addition to classroom libraries and an easy addition to STEAM/science literature activities about water.--Helen Prince, Indian Land H.S., Fort Mill, SC
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Review by Horn Book Review
At the time in Earth's history when volcanoes erupted and the oceans first formed, three water drop "brothers" -- depicted as teardrops with smiling faces -- live in the sea together. Curious about the world above and below, each embarks on a different voyage that illustrates the many recurring transformations of water on Earth as well as the vast scale of time over which these processes occur. Lee creatively frames the changes in and movement of water as tales of adventure, in relatable language that expertly maintains scientific integrity. "The oldest brother, who was very brave, wanted to go close to the sun...Then, one day, he felt his body being lifted out of the water. He had turned into vapor, and was rising upwards into the sky." While the oldest brother continues on the familiar water-cycle path, his brothers choose their own. The middle brother "wriggle[s] his way" into bedrock, eventually emerging into a spring, while the youngest brother's fate is to be absorbed by a grass shoot, transported through a food web -- from plant to cow to human -- and flushed down a toilet. The drops travel through Yoon's striking black block-cut and bold color earth-scapes, sometimes alone, sometimes gathered with other drops or surrounded by animals from various geologic time periods. Though all three meet up again in the ocean, "they will go on exploring the world in different forms and ways -- because that's just what water drops like to do." Danielle J. Ford May/June 2021 p.112(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Three personified drops of water demonstrate ways in which water moves on our planet. The water drops, born when "lava gushed out of the ground," are brothers. They fall to the ground with other raindrops, become part of the ocean, and observe life in the sea until they become "curious about the outside world." The brave oldest brother heads to the surface of the ocean and becomes vapor, then a cloud, a raindrop, a cloud once again, and finally a snowflake on a glacier, which melts into the ocean. The middle brother wiggles his way into the earth, explores the underground, heads back to the surface, and also eventually joins the ocean again. The shy youngest brother enters the soft soil, finds himself inside a leaf, and makes his way first inside, then outside of a cow (in the form of milk). When a boy drinks the milk and urinates, the drop enters the river and then, once again, the ocean--bringing all three brothers full circle. This Korean import, with its naïve drawings and patterned, velvety textures, will delight young readers as they follow the path of each water droplet. The text possesses a charming and childlike plainspokenness: "A long, long time ago, planet Earth was born. Planet Earth was very, very hot." And the three simply shaped dots with their pleasant, smiling faces will endear themselves to readers. An adventure both entertaining and informative. (Picture book. 4-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
