Upstream, Downstream: Exploring Watershed Connections (Orca Footprints)

by Rowena Rae (Author)

Upstream, Downstream: Exploring Watershed Connections (Orca Footprints)
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
Series: Orca Footprints

Do you know your watershed address?

We all have one, whether we live high up in a mountain, on an inland prairie or near the coast. A watershed is an area of land that channels rain and snowmelt into streams, rivers and oceans. Our lives are deeply intertwined with land and water and all the connections between them. Day-to-day activities―like brushing our teeth, eating a meal, getting a ride in a car or even using an electronic device―have consequences for our own or someone else's watershed.

Over the centuries we've changed the land by farming it, cutting down the trees on it, digging into it and building on it. We've also learned how to control water―where it goes and how much flows. Upstream, Downstream explores the consequences of the pressures people place on watersheds and highlights some of the heroes making a difference for watersheds around world.

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ALA/Booklist

In addition to covering the basics, such as the water cycle, the book explains why agricultures and civilizations flourished in the ancient Middle East as well as how early technological wonders, such as canals, dams, and aqueducts, eventually led to widespread industrialization, loss of vital wetlands, and large-scale changes that threaten the environment.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-7--Rae explains what watersheds are, going beyond the typical explanation of the water cycle or the differences in bodies of water. She presents the importance of watersheds in everyone's lives, how everything in the environment affects it, and how people can protect and even improve its health. The narrative style is engaging; the layout makes it easy to read and includes well-chosen stock images. This book might resonate more with American readers if large expanses of land or water were compared to the size of a football field in addition to a hockey rink. A cursory fact check reveals that Mount St. Helens experienced pyroclastic flows in 1980, not lava as the author states. At the end, Rae also includes profiles of people who have championed for and changed the health of their local watersheds. Back matter includes a list of resources, glossary, and index. VERDICT Overall, engaging and informative. Recommended as an additional purchase.--Julie Overpeck, Gardner Park Elem. Sch., Gastonia, NC

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"The combination of Rae's interests and expertise has produced a book that will inform and engage young readers and encourage them to make a difference by getting involved. Highly Recommended."— "CM: Canadian Review of Materials"
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781459823921
Lexile Measure
1050
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Orca Book Publishers
Publication date
September 14, 2021
Series
Orca Footprints
BISAC categories
JNF051100 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Environmental Science & Ecosystems
JNF037020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Environmental Conservation & Protection
JNF037070 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Earth Sciences - Water (Oceans, Lakes, Etc.)
Library of Congress categories
-

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