Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

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." (This book was reviewed digitally.)Wondrous. (Picture book. 4-10)

ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

A parent and child leave home on a canoe trip. As they travel, they camp, stargaze, view beautiful vistas, visit a wondrous waterfall, and then return home. Throughout the trip, the narrator ruminates on the contradictory qualities of water, its significance in supporting life, its beauty, and its mysterious nature. Simple lines, translated from Japanese, state, "It has no color, but can be any color. It has no shape, but can take any shape." Layered paintings illuminate the poetic text by depicting more imaginative elements with subtly shimmering colors, such as a hand attempting to hold overflowing water while animals climb the fingers like mountains. After the illustrations venture out as far as the stars, the text returns to earth and realistic human experience, with the narrator mischievously adding that water is the "pee of life," and the child, who has been listening and experiencing, enters the conversation to ask, "Is it the pee-pee of the gods?" The final line, "And then I wrote this poem," emphasizes how rhapsody and realism coexist.

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

An adult and child set off in a rowboat for an overnight camping trip in this author-illustrator team's (Every Color of Light, rev. 9/20) latest collaboration. Osada's poetic text is a series of phrases and riddles exploring everything water can be, from the profound ("It has no color, but can be any color. It has no shape, but can take any shape") to the playful ("It is the pee of life"). Arai's impressionistic illustrations, in bright shades of sky blue and spring green, move the story forward while giving form to Osada's observations. Some paintings focus on the concrete, such as a waterfall demonstrating how water "cascades and courses." Others match the text's fancifulness, as when the characters row on a sea of stars. The words and pictures together become the story of an older person imparting wisdom to a younger one as they explore the world together. Adrienne L. Pettinelli

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

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." (This book was reviewed digitally.)Wondrous. (Picture book. 4-10)