We Are Water Protectors

We Are Water Protectors, written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade, is a powerful tribute to Indigenous-led environmental movements.
I sourced this book from the American Library website and obtained a physical copy from my local library. The reading experience was captivating, as the vibrant colors in the illustrations significantly enhanced my enjoyment. As a winner of the 2021 Caldecott Medal, the book uses the chilling symbolism of a " Black Snake" to represent the threat of oil pipelines and pollution, contrasting this darkness with the vibrant, flowing watercolor imagery of water as the "first medicine ". "The story follows a young Ojibwe girl who draws strength from her ancestry and community to take a stand for the Earth, transforming a complex political and environmental issue into a deeply personal call to stewardship. Ideal for readers in grades K-4, this book serves as both a "mirror" for indigenous children and a "window" for others. making it an exceptional tool for teaching themes of symbolism, environmental science, and collective activism. If I were to use this book in a literacy block, I would focus on exploring point of view. The story is told through a first-person narrator, which creates an immediate emotional connection. A powerful lesson would involve comparing this Indigenous - led perspective with a standards expository news article about the same environmental issues to see how perspective changes the reader’s emotional response. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would definitely read it to my kindergarten class. This book teaches us to be good helpers and protectors of our world.

We Are Water Protectors, written and published in 2020 by author Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade was selected for the Cooperative Children’s Book Center Booklist (CCBC) in 2021. I selected this book because I was really drawn to the illustration from the front cover and as I located the physical copy of the book and flipped through the pages I fell in love with the beautiful watercolor illustrations within the pages that I believe really intertwined with the message in the story. The book We Are Water Protectors is a story about a young Ojibwe girl who has been raised by the teachings of her Nokomis (grandmother), learning that water is sacred. They also speak of the “black snake” that will come to destroy the land, spoiling the water and poisoning plants and animals. But, the young girl chooses to take a stand and bring her community together to protect the water and all things connected with it. The fight is not easy but they stand strong to protect what cannot fight back with them but that has and continues to give them so much. This book highlights the Indigenous culture and the importance of protecting the environment. I believe that this book can act as a “window” for non-Indigenous students to be able to view into a world that sees the environment as a spirit rather than as just a resource. I believe that it also allows children to realize that regardless of one's background, we all have a responsibility to protect the Earth. I would recommend this book for grades K-3. I think that this story can be used to teach a variety of purposes. For one I think it would be great to teach about how it is important to take care of our environment and how our actions can affect the health of our Earth, making it a great read-aloud for when Earth Day comes around! I also think that this story can also be used to teach about how colors in the illustrations can tell one about the mood of a story, how vibrant colors stand for a positive tone/mood while shifting to dark colors can show a change to a negative tone/mood.