Here are some stunning picturebooks that I would use to support a curriculum study about Rivers. They are in turns beautiful, poetic, thoughtful and knowledge packed.
Driftwood Days by William Miniver and Charles Vess
Under autumn leaves, a boy watches a beaver build a dam. One of the branches slips away, carried downstream by the river. Through the changing seasons, the branch makes a long, epic journey to the sea, before finally getting tossed back onto shore. Changed by the elements, the branch–now driftwood–lies patiently on the beach, until the boy discovers it once again.
Featuring breathtaking artwork by Charles Vess, Driftwood Days offers readers a beautiful, multilayered story about nature, science, childhood, and change.
A magical and gentle way to introduce the seasons and the cyclical nature of life.
What is a River? By Monika Vaicenaviciene
“What is a river?” an inquisitive young girl asks her grandmother as the pair sits together on the river’s banks. Like many questions posed by curious children, this one is deceptively simple in its asking. Yet, its answer spans the very world itself: geography and history, science and religion, industry and environmentalism. Through author-illustrator Monika Vaicenavičienė’s eyes, the river becomes a vessel for enormous complexity, a lens through which the interconnectedness of our shared earth can be understood.
Thoughtful, playful, challenging. A perfect book for widening understanding of rivers to both STEM and art. What indeed is a River? My favourite picturebook 2021.
River by Elisha Cooper
Caldecott Honor winner Elisha Cooper invites readers to grab their oars and board a canoe down a river exploration filled with adventure and beauty. In Cooper’s flowing prose and stunning watercolor scenes, readers can follow a traveler’s trek down the Hudson River as she and her canoe explore the wildlife, flora and fauna, and urban landscape at the river’s edge. Through perilous weather and river rushes, the canoe and her captain survive and maneuver their way down the river back home. River is an outstanding introduction to seeing the world through the eyes of a young explorer and a great picture book for the STEAM curriculum.Maps and information about the Hudson River and famous landmarks are included in the back of the book.
A brilliant lazy journey down the River Hudson. Wonderfully encapsulate s the changing geography bot physical and human.
The Rhythm of the Rain by Graham Barker Smith
Issac plays in his favourite pool on the mountainside. As rain starts to fall, he empties his little jar of water into the pool and races the sparkling streams as they tumble over waterfalls, rush through swollen rivers and burst out into the vast open sea. Where will my little jar of water go now? Issac wonders. On the other side of the world, Cassi welcomes the rain to her parched village . . . From tiniest raindrop to deepest ocean, this breathtaking celebration of the water cycle captures the remarkable movement of water across the earth in all its majesty. A stunning new non-fiction picture book from Greenaway medal-winner, Grahame Baker-Smith.
A visual stunner. Perfect for discussing the Water Cycle and adds a magical sense of scale.
The Tree and the River
A spectacular time-lapse portrait of humankind – and our impact on the natural world – from a Caldecott Honor-winning master of the wordless form.
For his latest feat of visual storytelling, the acclaimed creator of the Journey trilogy invents, in staggering detail, a familiar world layered with imaginary civilizations. Borrowing from multiple cultures and architectural styles to craft astonishing new humanscapes, Aaron Becker tracks the evolution of our species – and its toll on the Earth – through the fates of a lone tree and an enduring river. River and tree bear silent witness over time as people arrive to harness water, wind, and animals; devise technology and transportation; redirect rivers; and reshape the land. Timely and ultimately hopeful, this wordless epic invites readers to pore over spreads densely packed with visual drama. Fans of Journey, Quest, and Return will leap at a new chance to uncover sophisticated layers of meaning, marvel at intricate details – from holographic billboards to flying machines – and see our precious shared world through fresh eyes.
The focus on one place over time truly helps children understand the role of a River in developing or society and culture.
River by Marc Martin
A beautiful geographical story with lush landscapes and poetic text from an award-winning Australian illustrator. A River follows on from Marc Martin’s incredible A Forest – winner of the 2013 Crichton Children’s Illustration Award.
There is a river outside my window.
Where will it take me?
So begins an imaginary journey from the city to the sea. From factories to farmlands, freeways to forest, each new landscape is explored through stunning illustrations and poetic text from this award-winning picture-book creator.
Just a brilliant way for children to get the changes and understand geographical features.
River Stories by Timothy Knapman, Ashling Lidsay and Irene Montano
Sail along five mighty rivers around the world and open up the giant fold-out pages to reveal incredible stories from history, mythology and modern times.
This gorgeous gift book will take you on a world adventure via the world’s greatest rivers. The Yangtze tells of dragons and dolphins, while the Rhine whispers about castles and Frankenstein. Explore pyramids, tombs and temples by the Nile, and search for lost cities and gold alongside the Amazon. And follow the Mississippi to hear of historic battles and dinosaurs.
Gorgeously illustrated pages fold out to reveal the full length of each river. Make an epic journey from source to sea and soak up the rivers’ amazing stories
Amazing foldouts make this a book to pore over. Full of history and mythology it’s provides a very different take on rivers.
Are you ready to take part in an adventure? To face danger at every turn? To venture into unknown lands? If you are, then Journey to the Last River may be the perfect adventure book for you.
‘I would mention the area’s name, but I can’t. All I can say is that this map would lead the two of us on an expedition into the heart of the unknown, hoping to find the last river for ourselves. What we discovered deep within the rainforest was enough to make me remove or change the place names in this journal – just like the map maker. Soon, you will know and understand.…’
Join the Unknown Adventurer again on this thrilling adventure into the Amazon, which begins with a map discovered in the Royal Geographical Society showing a river that has been mysteriously rubbed out. It leads the Unknown Adventurer and his companion Bibi into a search for this ‘last river’ that will change their understanding of nature forever.
This book is a thrilling tale of a voyage into the Amazon rainforest that looks exactly like a real scrap book inside, with smudged pages, handwritten-looking text and even die-cut piranha bite marksfrom a previous scrape.
The gripping story features encounters with caiman and anacondas, incredible flora and fauna, survival tips and much, much more. The first title in a new series of spin-off adventures from The Lost Book of Adventure.
Just visually stunning with a heart of adventure. I’ve seen children get truly lost in this book.
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