River’s Journey

River flowing, where’s it going? In the launch of her first board-book series, an award-winning nonfiction author brings the youngest explorers close to nature’s wonders in action.

Water springs from the ground, creeks gurgle downhill, snow and rain make streams bigger, and then you have a river. But where does that river go? Step by step, Sally M. Walker’s simple, scientifically accurate narration lets the youngest hydrologists follow water’s movement from high land to the ocean, changing from a trickle to a torrent along the way. At each juncture comes the refrain: where’s it going? Kim Smith’s lush landscapes capture the water in motion and fauna nearby, from wading moose to leaping fish. A note to parents suggests bringing the learning to life by encouraging questions and observations of the natural world.

Sally M. Walker is the award-winning author of more than sixty books for children, including the picture books Out of This World: Star-Studded Haiku, illustrated by Matthew Trueman, and Trees: Haiku from Roots to Leaves, illustrated by Angela Mckay. She is also the author of Underground Fire: Hope, Sacrifice, and Courage in the Cherry Mine Disaster and Champion: The Comeback Tale of the American Chestnut Tree, an Orbis Pictus Honor Book. Sally M. Walker lives in Illinois.

Kim Smith is the New York Times best-selling illustrator of more than thirty picture books, including her first book as author-illustrator, Boxitects. In addition, she has worked on children’s games, puzzles, animation, 3D displays, posters, and magazines. When she’s not busy illustrating, she spends time exploring and painting in the great outdoors. Kim Smith lives in Calgary, Canada.