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Water Day

Illustrated by Olivia Sua

LIST PRICE ₹627.00

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About The Book

A joyful picture book from acclaimed author Margarita Engle about a young girl and her community celebrating the arrival of the water man who visits weekly to distribute water to the village.

Water days are busy days,
grateful, laughing,
thirsty days.


A small village no longer has a water supply of its own, but one young girl and her neighbors get by with the help of the water man. When he comes to town, water flows like hope for the whole familia, and everyone rejoices.

About The Author

Photograph (c) Shevaun Williams

Margarita Engle is the Cuban American author of many books including the verse novels Rima’s RebellionYour Heart, My SkyWith a Star in My HandThe Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor winner; and The Lightning Dreamer. Her verse memoirs include Soaring Earth and Enchanted Air, which received the Pura Belpré Award, a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor, and was a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, among others. Her picture books include Drum Dream GirlDancing Hands, and The Flying Girl. Visit her at MargaritaEngle.com.

About The Illustrator

Olivia Sua is an artist who creates elaborate works of painted cut paper. She was born in Washington State and now resides in Beaverton, Oregon. In 2020, Olivia graduated from Pacific Northwest College of Art with a BFA in illustration. When she’s not illustrating, Olivia likes to grow plants from the windowsill of her apartment, quilt, and wander the public library. Visit her at OliviaSua.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (August 22, 2023)
  • Length: 40 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781665918725
  • Ages: 4 - 8

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Raves and Reviews

"Sua’s painted cut-paper illustrations in a rich pastel color palette are as inviting as the girl’s cheerful voice, which grows somber when recounting Bisabuelita’s memories about how the neighborhood’s water has dried up since she was young. The book culminates with an image of the family using their replenished water and a line that sums up how this tightly knit group views water day: “a river of joy that flows for my whole thirsty familia.”

– Horn Book Magazine

"Mellow watercolors ooze old-fashioned charm, with monotone barn backgrounds contrasting with bright pops of color from the lively, charismatic barnyard animals. With raucous stream-of-consciousness narration, the duckling is both hero and villain, and the story’s a kick to read aloud. . . Adorable. Readers will flock to this barnyard charmer.

– Kirkus Reviews

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More books from this author: Margarita Engle