about the book
“Drip. / Sip. / Pour me a cup. / Water / is / water / unless… / it heats up.”
While exploring the outdoors, a brother and sister capture a turtle in a net. Then it starts to downpour. After running home, the boy grabs a glass of water to clench his thirst. His sister has a steaming, hot drink. The rain has made her cold!
“Whirl. / Swirl. / Watch it curl by. / Steam is steam unless… it cools high.”
The clouds after the storm take a variety of shapes. The little boy can’t help but stare at the sky as his sister returns the turtle to the lake.
Where does the water cycle go from here? “Clouds are clouds unless…”
about the author
When Miranda Paul was growing up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, she never had an author visit her school. Because of this, she never realized authors were, well, alive. They must all be dead, right? Under this assumption, Miranda never saw becoming an author as a career choice.
Her plans to study marine biology at St Mary’s College in Maryland changed after taking some writing courses from well-known author and poet Lucille Clifton. She became a teacher instead!
In 2003, Miranda traveled to The Gambia for the first time so she could teach 10th grade. Shortly after arriving, she was given a crocheted purse made out of recycled trash—Miranda knew she had to meet the woman who made it. It took four years before she met Isatou Ceesay. Miranda’s debut picture book, One Plastic Bag, is Isatou’s story.
She once read a poem while sitting in a live crocodile pit! See the video here.
Miranda currently lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with her husband and kids.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: Meg Miller Writes
Author podcast interview: Picturebooking
Also by Miranda Paul:
Are We Pears Yet? Roaring Brook Press. September 2017.
Blobfish Throws a Party. Little Bee Books. May 2017.
10 Little Ninjas. Knopf Books for Young Readers. 2016.
Trainbots. Little Bee Books. June 2016.
Whose Hands Are These? : A Community Helper Guessing Book. Millbrook Press. 2016.
One Plastic Bag : Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia. Millbrook Press. 2015.
about the illustrator
Jason Chin enjoys combining science and difficult concepts with fantasy, making his books interesting and educational even for a three year old. His road to publishing was much easier than most. Co-workers at the Manhattan children’s book store where he worked introduced him to his current publisher.
Jason’s biggest challenge has always been self doubt. He always knew he wanted to illustrate books, but writing was quite a bit more daunting. Every time he tackles a project, there is always a point where he gets frustrated and thinks he is doing a terrible job. Then he revises and revises, and when he is done with that he revises and revises some more until he absolutely has to send it off to his editor. It often takes a whole year from that point to get the book into print. By the time Jason gets a copy of the actual book, he has forgotten about all the tiny little things that bugged him and is very happy with the finished product!
Jason designed the book cover of Gravity, and a few months after he sent it off to his editor, the fellow sent him a message telling Jason to check out the movie poster for the new film called Gravity. Just like Jason’s book cover, it showed an astronaut floating above the earth with the sun rising in the background. It even used the same type font that Jason’s used! Needless to say, he spent a lot of time explaining that his book had nothing to do with the movie!
Jason grew up in a small town in New Hampshire and studied illustration at Syracuse University. He currently lives with his wife, Deirdre Gill, and their son, Liam, in Burlington, Vermont.
Sources:
Illustrator website
Illustrator biography: Amazon
Illustrator video talk
Also by Jason Chin:
Gravity. Roaring Brook Press. 2014.
Island : A Story of the Galapagos. Flash Point. 2012.
Coral Reefs. Flash Point. 2011.
Redwoods. Flash Point. 2009.
read more!
All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon
Did you know all the water in the world IS all the water in the world? We are all connected by this life-saving resource. In verse, readers will learn about the water cycle, the fact that our water supply is limited, and our need to protect it.
Gravity by Jason Chin
While playing at the beach with his astronaut and spaceship, a young boy is startled by a book falling to earth. What made it fall to the ground? What’s stopping it—and everything else—from floating into space? This little boy is about to find out…
One Plastic Bag : Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul
When the people of Njau, Gambia, began using plastic bags instead of the woven ones, the bags piled up on the side of roads, caught rainwater, and bred mosquitos, causing disease to spread. Isatou decided to do something about the mess. She used her crocheting skills to make fashionable handbags out of the old, recycled plastic bags. Other people in her village joined her, and together they cleaned up the countryside.