Summary:
The Water Princess is a story about a young girl named Princess Gie Gie, who lives in a small African village where clean drinking water is scarce. Gie Gie and her mother wake up before the sun and walk miles to collect fresh water for drinking and cleaning. Gie Gie dreams of bringing clean water to her village. Despite her prayers, Gie Gie cannot make the water come closer to the village and she cannot make it run clearer. She demands that the water come closer and that she no longer wants to get up before the sun to have clean water. Every night Gie Gie and her mother prepare for another voyage the next day. Gie Gie questions: “Why is the water so far? Why is the water not clear? Where is our water?” Her mother tells her to dream that someday she will find a way to bring the water closer and clear.
Element 6: Social Action
This book represents the element of Social Action because The Water Princess is a great example of a text that highlights a social and cultural dilemma. Gie Gie wants to be an advocate for her village and put a lot of effort and thought into the ways that she hopes to bring clean water into her community. This text can remind and inspire children that it only takes one person to make a change in their community.
I would use this book to introduce similar environmental or systemic issues that affect my students and to introduce the meaning of advocacy and what it means to have a voice. This book will be a great segway into encouraging students to use their voices to talk about environmental or systemic issues that impact themselves and their families.
Students will write letters to government officials advocating for an environmental or systemic issue that impacts themselves and their families the most. For example, students who live in Newark, New Jersey, may write letters to The New Jersey Department of Environmental Justice (NJDEP) to advocate for clean air and to keep important environmental justice laws in place.
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