Book Description
for The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Josephine Mandamin, concerned about water quality and conservation, organized a group of other Ojibwe women to walk around all the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, blessing and singing to the water. They accomplished this remarkable feat in seven years, and then organized women from other Native Nations to do the same with the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the frozen north. The account uses numerous Ojibwe words (defined in the glossary) to give a strong sense of setting and of the organizer’s Ojibwe heritage. Other colorful details, such as the fact that Nokomis (the name the narrator uses for Mandamin) went through 11 pairs of sneakers on her walks, make her unusual story particularly appealing to children. (Ages 6-10)
CCBC Choices 2018. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2018. Used with permission.