Water Can Be…
Water can be a…Thirst quencher…Kid drencher…Cloud fluffer…Fire snuffer…
Maybe you thought water was just for drinking and baths. But it does so much more! It gives us sprinklers to run through and ice cubes to cool our drinks and comfort owies. It shifts from water to fog to snow and ice. It gives life but also creates monstrous storms. Find out about the many roles water plays in this brief, poetic exploration of water throughout the year. Backmatter gives more thorough information.
Author: Laura Purdie Salas
Illustrator: Violeta Dabija
Publisher: Millbrook Press, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4677-0591-2
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Awards & Recognition
- Minnesota Book Award Finalist
- Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended title
- Texas Library Association’s 2×2 List
- ALSC’s Building Steam with Dia book list
- RIF’s 2015 Multicultural Booklist
- Houston ISD Name That Book Contest
- Bill Martin Jr., Picture Book Award Nominee
- Nerdy Award for Poetry
FREE Downloadables
- Water Can Be – Maze
- Water Can Be – Water Cycle
- Water Can Be – Snowman List Poem
- Water Can Be – Fun with a Wordle of Water Words
- Water Can Be – Classroom Guide
- Water Can Be – CCSS Guide
- write a Can Be… book–lesson plan and templates for students!
My Partnership with WaterAid
- Water Can Be – WaterAid Press Release
- Here’s how much I’ve donated from Water Can Be…‘s royalties so far–THANK YOU for making this possible!
Book Trailers and Content Videos
More videos made by Laura:
- Book trailer with Laura and her family
- WaterAid and the water crisis
- The 3 forms of water
- The water cycle
4th-Grade Digital Collages Inspired by Water Can Be…
Rogers Elementary School’s Technology/Media Literacy Specialist Megan Bateman emailed me:
Your book Water Can Be…was a good fit for cross-curricular integration with our fourth grade water unit. Please enjoy these collages (inspired by your book) that the fourth grade students created in my Media/Technology class.
Reviews & More
- starred Kirkus review: “The simple text and spot-on rhymes belie the sophistication of the inherent message behind the verse—water is a life-giver.”
- starred PW review: “Salas and Dabija follow 2012’s A Leaf Can Be… with an equally contemplative and thought-provoking ode to the forms water takes and the functions it serves, both practical and whimsical.”
- Water Can Be – Pinterest Board for Educators
- Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University – activities to go with Water Can Be…
- How Books Change Us: The Writing of Water Can Be… (Nerdy Book Club blog post)
- Spotlight on Laura Purdie Salas and Poetry Prompt (Ditty of the Month Club blog post)
- A Poem Can Be… poem collage by a student