ALA Booklist (Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

Based on Bandy's childhood experiences, this picture book tells of a boy in a segregated community. On his way to town with his grandmother, he must stand at the back of the bus, even though there are empty seats in front. Hot and thirsty when they get to town, he rushes to get a drink, but the water from the "Colored" drinking fountain tastes like "nasty, muddy, gritty yuck." Sure that the water the white boy is drinking from the "Whites" fountain is pure and icy cold, the black boy is determined to drink there. His grandmother warns him not to even think of trying the whites-only fountain, but he obsesses about it and even has nightmares about being arrested by two giant police officers. Finally, he sneaks into town alone to drink from the restricted fountain only to discover it is from the same pipe and just as yucky. The illustrations in watercolor, ink, and gouache show the oppressive racism in daily life and reveal how crazy it is.

School Library Journal (Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

K-Gr 3 A contemplative story set in the South in 1962. Michael loves going to town with his grandmother. Waiting for the bus, he gives up his seat on a bench when a white family arrives. Once he boards, he goes to the back without complaint. "Where we lived, that's how we did things," he explains simply. When they get to town, Michael heads straight for the water fountain marked "Colored." A boy from the bus goes to the "White" fountain. Michael is disappointed that his water tastes "nasty, muddy, gritty yuck," and he imagines how good the other water must taste. The watercolor, ink, and gouache illustrations take a masterful turn to fantasy as Michael thinks of the white fountain as an amazing oasis in the desert. In a nightmare, however, giant policemen fill the walls of his room, ready to take him to jail for using it. Convinced that he must find out about the water for himself, he uses his plastic army men to map out a plan of attack. The tense tone of this section is leavened by the artwork. Michael puts his plan into motion while life-size plastic figures guard his path. He finally gets his drink and finds out that the same pipe feeds both fountains. "The signs&30; had put a bad idea in my head. But they were a lie. If they weren't real, what else should I question?" The child's experience makes him decide not to let anyone or anything stand in the way of his own determination. The story may strike some as simplistic, but it conveys a feeling of authenticity. Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

First-time authors Bandy and Stein draw on one of Bandy's childhood memories in this resonant story about a boy awakening to the injustices around him. In town with his grandmother, Michael drinks from the "colored" fountain, whose water "taste like nasty, muddy, gritty yuck." Yet next to him, a boy at the whites-only fountain eagerly drinks, igniting Michael's curiosity ("Suddenly I just had to know what that white water tasted like"). Even ordinary things, when forbidden, can grip a child's imagination, and so it is with Michael, his obsession with "white water" producing several fantasy scenarios and eventually compelling him to sneak back to town, where he discovers that the water in both fountains tastes the same. Michael's determination and imaginativeness are evident in Strickland's (A Place Where Hurricanes Happen) pale mixed-media paintings, which make excellent use of outlines to portray the boy's imaginings, such as a snow-capped mountain range seen under the arc of water in the "white" fountain. If the all-consuming nature of Michael's fascination occasionally feels excessive, the strength of the book's imagery, as well as Michael's epiphany, amply compensate. Ages 5-8. (Aug.)

Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

Young Michael didn't question much about his segregated life, but once he starts ("I just had to know what that white water tasted like") his mind opens to possibility: "Maybe everything I thought I couldn't do was just in my imagination." While message-laden, the simply told story is effective; the loosely rendered sepia-tinted illustrations evoke a past era.

Kirkus Reviews

Young Michael's desire for refreshment at the whites-only water fountain teaches him about truth and the power of imagination. Narrator Michael normally accepts the familiar trappings of the Jim Crow South—giving up a seat at the bus stop and on the bus and drinking from separate water fountains. When Michael drinks from his assigned fountain, he finds the water warm and nasty. Next to him, a white boy drinks for a long time, convincing Michael that the white water is superior to his. Michael cannot stop thinking about that delicious white water and comes up with a way to taste it for himself. When reality hits—the same pipe feeds water to both fountains—Michael begins to wonder what other lies he has believed. Strickland's watercolor-and-ink illustrations extend the story, visually demonstrating the similarities between these two boys. Michael's grandmother and the white boy's mother both hold their hand to their foreheads in the heat; the boys sit at the bench with their legs extended the same way; they leave the bus through different doors but their bodies move with the same motion; their drinking stances are identical. Inspirational in tone, this is a strong introduction for young listeners and readers to the American Civil Rights movement. Michael's examination of the myths that rule his world should inspire modern readers to do the same. (Picture book. 4-10)