Editor: As noted Saturday, here’s a list to extend your Earth Day resources – especially for fantasy book lovers of all ages – enjoy, and get ready for Earth Day on Thursday.

Water Books for Fantasy Lovers! by Becky Rupp

In Rebecca Rupp’s The Waterstone (Candlewick, 2005), the world is drying. Twelve-year-old Tad — who is only a few inches tall — doesn’t even notice it at first. Busy practicing with his new spear, arguing with his sister, Birdie, and living the normal life of a youngling of the Fisher Tribe, he thinks little of a stream slowed to a trickle here, a pond suddenly dwindling there.

But then Tad begins to have strange flashbacks — glimpses of a past that he knows can’t possibly be his own. With these “rememberings” haunting him, he and Birdie begin an adventure marked by great sorrows, fierce battles, and unbreakable friendships. In this remarkable rite of passage, Tad grows to know who he really is and what his destiny holds. For only he can restore the water and save the forests and animals and Tribes.

Only he can retrieve the Waterstone.

“The well-crafted tale and careful attention to detail will have young readers forgetting that the characters are only a few inches tall, as they submerge themselves in Tad’s amazing adventure. An amazing journey of surprising proportions.” Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Liz Kessler’s The Tail of Emily Windsnap (Candlewick, 2006) is the wonderful tale of a seventh-grader who takes a swimming class – and suddenly her legs turn into a tail. Emily is a mermaid and in this, the first of several Emily books, Emily explores the world beneath the sea and discovers her strange heritage.

In Dick King-Smith’s The Water-Horse (Yearling, 2007), a chapter book for ages 7-11, a young Scottish sister and brother find an egg capsule washed up on the beach and take it home. It hatches into a lovable sea monster, who grows and grows until finally a new home for it must be found in Loch Ness.

In Paul Zindel’s Loch (Hyperion Books, 2004), 15-year-old Luke Perkins, his sister, and his marine biologist father search for Loch-Ness-like monsters in a lake in Vermont. For ages 12 and up. It’s got gory bits.

In Mollie Hunter’s A Stranger Came Ashore (HarperCollins, 1977), a handsome young man saved from a shipwreck turns out to be the Great Selkie, the seal-man of Celtic legend. For ages 9-12.

L.M. Boston’s The Sea Egg (Houghton Mifflin, 1967) is the story of two brothers who – on vacation at the seaside – purchase an egg-shaped stone that hatches out a triton. Out of print; try the library.

Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (many editions) features a kraken and a fabulous submarine. My kids loved it.

Make a Splash!

Becky’s favorite kid-tested water experiments. Especially “Cool Ooze.”

Bonus! If you don’t already have it, Becky Rupp’s “Make a Splash!” booklet of cool water-related science experiments will be available tomorrow on the Resources page — you’ll want to check these out, too!

 Link to this page

 Link to this page