The Water Princess

Inspired by the childhood experiences of fashion model Georgie Badiel, who spent her summers fetching water from a well some distance from her grandmother's village in Burkina Faso, author Susan Verde and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds have crafted a tale of Princess Gie Gie, who dreams of a day when cool, clean water is readily available nearer to her home. Wishing alone cannot help her, however, and every day she makes the long trek with her mother to fetch their family's water supply...

An engaging and thought-provoking look at the issue of water scarcity, which affects one in five people globally, The Water Princess is also a visual treat, featuring absolutely gorgeous artwork that captures both the beauty and harshness of Princess show more Gie Gie's African home. The rich brown and sepia tones of daytime contrast nicely with the deep purplish/blue of night, while Gie Gie herself is ably captured through every change of mood and expression. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories addressing issues of poverty and resource scarcity, as well as to those looking for beautifully illustrated picture-books. show less

This story is based on the childhood of the high-fashion model Georgie Badiel, “Gie Gie,” who was born in Burkina Faso.

As a young girl, Gie Gie, along with the other girls and women of her grandmother’s village, walked every single day for miles to fill up pots with water, which they carried back home on their heads. No matter how hard she wished, she couldn't change that reality.

The next morning, they had to start out again. But Gie Gie’s mother tells her when she goes to sleep at night, she should dream of finding another way. And we know she grows up to do just that.

The author reports in an Afterword:

"In Burkina Faso alone, nearly a quarter of the population has no access to clean water. Both illnesses from contaminated water show more and the time it takes to collect water every day prevent many children from going to school. The walk itself is on average four miles each day . . . !”

Today, Georgie Badiel has a non-profit foundation to help bring clean drinking water to the people of Africa. The organization also builds sanitation facilities and plants trees. On the Foundation website she writes: Don’t waste your time and money trying to emacipate a women or educate a girl who do [sic] not have access to clean drinking water. Your effort will be useless. Water is first.”

I loved the stunning illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds. His palette is perfect for depicting the hot, dry landscape. And yet, amidst the sere background, the faces of the characters are expressive and beautiful.

Evaluation: This book provides a beautiful means to teach children in the West that not all children are as fortunate as they, and that there is much work to be done. The Foundation reports that the desperately poor nation of Burkina Faso has more than 17 million people, but water and sanitation are a luxury to most: The British trust WaterAid estimates that at least 6,000 children under five die each year from the lack of these basic necessities.

As the author and illustrator write at the end of the book, “We hope this story brings awareness to the ongoing crisis and inspires you to be a part of the change.” show less

This is a new favorite. The illustrations carry me to the dusty African landscape of Gie Gie's home. I ache with thirst as she does, surrounded by the myriad of dry, hot browns and yellows. I love the choice of text font, as it seems to personify Gie Gie's voice perfectly. Despite her hardships, she has the love of her father and mother and the company of her mid-day friends and her wonderful imagination. This is a beautiful book to introduce children to the plight of other children around the world and have them interested in knowing how to connect with and help others. The end of the story includes an author's note about the real "Gie Gie" and the foundation she started to provide clean, fresh drinking water to rural and remote show more villages. This book would also be helpful for young children to gain perspective on the wider world versus their own. show less

The Water Princess beautifully illustrates the power of a young girl as she makes the daily journey to obtain water for her family. This story follows Princess Gie Gie, a young African child, as her and her mother walk miles to a water well every single day. Readers can walk through Gie Gie's tiring journey with her as she heads to the well, meets her friends for a short time, and travels home, just to repeat the process the next day.

I absolutely love this story. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the strength the author allows Gie Gie to portray. Watching Gie Gie walk miles just to get some water to drink for a single day serves as an inspiration to readers. If a young girl can walk to find a basic necessity, readers can be show more strong to face the challenges in their lives as well. I also love the raw emotion throughout the story. The author illustrates Gie Gie as being frustrated that she has to walk so far, tired from carrying the water on her head, and hopeful that she can have access to water in her home one day. This raw emotion creates sympathy for Gie Gie in the minds of readers, reminding them to be grateful for the water they have while also inspiring them to want to make a difference in the water crisis.

While I believe that this book is beautifully written, I wish the author would have included more information as to how people can help put an end to the water crisis. This story pushes readers to want to make a difference, yet, there is not a list of things that children and adults can do to help. Overall, this does not harm the story, but I think it is a missed opportunity to only include a link that readers can go to for more information rather than including more information in the back of the book itself.

In the end, I am rating this book five out of five stars. I believe that children in early elementary school will love reading about Princess Gie Gie. Not only that, but students will be reminded of how lucky they are to have access to basic needs. This book is a perfect tool to use in a lesson about global crises and water in general. Ultimately, I believe this picture book will inspire readers to have a spirit of gratitude and to want to help those who are less fortunate. show less

This story is about a young African girl named GieGie. GieGie calls herself Princess GieGie, and explains that Africa is her kingdom. She can make a lot of things happen in her kingdom, like playing hide and seek with the wind and making the grass dance, but she can't make the water come closer. Each morning, GieGie's mother wakes her before dawn so they can make the long journey to find water. The story depicts their journey, showing how strenuous it is, but also showing how GieGie and her mother use song and laughter to make the trip more fun. Once they reach the river and wait in line to get their water, they have to make the journey back. GieGie and her family use the water to drink, bathe, and wash their clothes. Still, she and her show more family go to bed thirsty, aware that the journey will have to be made again tomorrow and everyday. GieGie wishes that she could make the water come closer to her kingdom, which she loves so much.

The central message of this book is that very large portion of the Earth's population live without clean or easily accessible water. The character GieGie is based off of the childhood experiences of Georgie Badiel. Georgie's aspiration in life is to bring clean water closer to parts of Africa where there is none. This book is a tool that is intended to be used to spread awareness about the issue of water accessibility in less-developed countries. show less

This was a great read. For my purposes, I don't think it would be a great fit for a young children's storytime, because I'm not sure that they'd get the impact of the story, but it would probably be great for kindergarteners on up, especially if they have time to talk about the issue and understand that there are really kids and families in the world who have to make this journey to get water every day. Great book to read to introduce kids to the way other people live in the world and some of the challenges that they face. And I like that there was an explanation at the end about how to get more involved and what the Georgie Badiel Foundation is doing to try to provide people with access to clean water.

This story is based on the true life events of Georgie Badiel and how she had to trek long distances for clean water. Both the word choice- "The thirst comes quick...dry lips, dry throat. I squeeze my eyes shut. I see it. CLEAR. I dip my toes in it. COOL. I scoop it up and bring it to my lips. Slowly I open my eyes. Nothing."- and the illustrations - browns and reds, barren landscapes- provide insight into what it is like in parts of Africa where water is not easily accessible and often times not clean. This book delves into the subject of poverty and the scarcity of resources to many people in the world, and forces the reader to reflect on how they can help the cause. I think the book would be great for any age group, as I am an adult show more and enjoyed it very much. show less