"All around us, we are reminded of the never ending journey of a drop of water."  This is the final sentence of the book A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder.  This book charts the course of millions of drops of water, demonstrating what they do, where they go, and how they react to different environments.

 

The drops of water come alive in this book - alive in the sense that water is an active element of the earth.  It is never stagnant and always changing.  Water also has amazing properties such as adhesion, surface tension, and elasticity.  Wick demonstrates all of these properties using simple narrative text, vivid photographs, and simple experiments that children can most likely do at home.  Suggested experiments are also included in the back of this book, giving kids ideas on experimenting with the properties of water.

 

Water is a curious substance and this book emphasizes how curious it is, yet it offers explanations on why certain things happen.  For example, did you know the liquid skin of a soap bubble is 500 times thinner than a human hair?  How can a bubble even form if it is so thin? 

 

Wick demonstrates the properties of water in a seamless way, showing and telling in equal parts, captivating the reader and encouraging experimentation.  What better way to approach science?