Description

Existing in myriad forms, containing multitudes in its reflection, and coursing through each and every one of us, water sustains the world around us-and life itself.A USBBY Outstanding International Book of 2022
Selected by the New York Post as a 2022 Book to Buy for Everyone on Your Gift List

Artist Ryoji Arai and poet Hiroshi Osada, the Japanese team behind critically acclaimed Every Color of Light, offer up another meditation on the natural world in this ode to water. A lyrical moment between parent and child in a boat on a river unfolds into an examination of the water that surrounds them, and the nature and life sustained by it: “It’s only oxygen and hydrogen. Simple as could be, and yet nothing means more to life as we know it.”

Arai’s lush art and Osada’s evocative poetry, beautifully translated from Japanese by David Boyd, work together to enchant readers and refresh their spirit, opening their eyes to the wonders of water, the universe, and life.

Publisher Review

"In a spare text, this Japanese import explores the functions, properties, and inherent contradictions of water. Two small humans leave home and set out in a rowboat. Water, reads the narration of this follow-up to Every Color of Light (2020), is 'only oxygen and hydrogen, simple as can be,' yet it sustains life. This statement is accompanied by a full-bleed spread in which readers see the two humans row along a wave of stars next to the Earth. Water, however, is also paradoxical in nature: 'It has no color, but can be any color,' for instance. It has no shape but can take on various shapes, and you can touch it but not actually hold it. The musings are sometimes metaphorical ('like the mother of us all, it creates life') and often ethereal. In a dramatic shift in tone, the narration then states: 'It is the pee of life.' Here, the voice, which has hitherto spoken of you and we, shifts to a first-person-singular one, and the narrator acknowledges a child asking if water is the 'pee-pee of the gods.' (This will undoubtedly delight the youngest of readers.) Dense textures, a palette with a stunning use of light, and panoramic landscapes establish a sweeping, grandiose tone that pays its respects to Mother Nature. Resplendent yellows and rich shades of blues and greens are the stars of the show. The book closes on a metafictive note: After referencing the child who asks about gods, the narrator states on the final page: 'And then, I wrote this poem.' Wondrous." -STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus