City of Water, written by Andrea Curtis and illustrated by Katy Dockrill. Groundwood, 2021. $19.95 ages 9 and up

"As the world's population grows, pollution 
increases and our climate changes, access to 
clean water is becoming an urgent issue.The 
United Nations warns that by 2025 half the
world will be living in areas that have limited 
or poor-quality water.

But we can still change this for the better. 
We can start by learning more about where
water comes from, how it gets to our taps and 
where it goes when it disappears down the 
drain."

We can all pay lip service to water conservation on behalf of ourselves and the planet, but do we know all we need to know about how the water that impacts our lives is treated before it is tapped into our homes? What do we know about how plentiful it is, and if we are using it indiscriminately at a cost to our comfortable lives? 

Unless we set ourselves to learning all we need to know about the real importance of water, we might be part of the problem that is having more of an effect every year. With books like this one, the learning can ramp up in middle years classrooms. It is perfect fare for getting students interested in learning, and realizing that they can make a difference when they are well-informed. 

It is a winning nonfiction book that will certainly give readers the chance to learn what they haven't known up until now. It offers an informed and educational look at how water treatment works and how the water we all take for granted gets to us. It's a concept that many urban dwellers need to consider. Open the taps, flush the toilets, water the lawns, or have a shower when the day begins or ends. Pretty easy, isn't it? 

The endpapers effectively show the water cycle itself. The importance of water is immediately presented, and the fact that almost three-quarters of what is found on earth is in the oceans and undrinkable for us. Less than one percent is fresh and ready for us to drink. Worst of all, water is a limited resource. What we do with what we have is of utmost importance. 

Ms. Curtis follows up with a very comprehensive look at water treatment, and the way people consider water on a worldwide scale. Sharing this book with middle grade students will have an impact on them, and offer many opportunities for discussion and further study. Realistic artwork adds context, and fills in the spaces that surrounds the informative text. While much of the text is serious and thought-provoking, there are moments of humor in some of the fun facts also presented. 

The final two pages offer ways for readers to become water protectors, a glossary, and a list of further resources. It is an extremely useful and educational book for all middle grade classrooms, and it is the second in a series of books about the environment by Andrea Curtis, following up on A Forest in the City.