Nonfiction Monday: River Song

River Song
Written by Steve Van Zandt
Illustrated by Katherine Zecca
Ages 4-8 32 Pages
Dawn Publications, 2007
Reviewed by Kim Hutmacher
Bio by Laura Crawford

Book Source: We would like to thank Dawn Publications for donating a copy of this book for review.

Rivers make beautiful music. According to River Song, it sounds something like this: Blurp ah pa-shoosh rumbly pound, A white rapid river makes a wonderful sound. Introducing the water cycle to young readers, the book begins:

It happened one day on the mountain so high,
A river was born from out of the sky.
The rain and the snow came falling down
And started to run as they hit the ground.

Along the cycle, or journey, we meet some of the plants and animals that call the river and its surrounding area home, from the orange-speckled tiger lily to the kingfisher to the black bear and more. We experience the breathtaking sites and sounds of their habitat. The story ends with the cycle beginning anew:

The water in the sea rises up to the sky
And the wind blows a cloud to the mountain so high.
The rain and the snow come falling down
And flow to the river as they hit the ground.

The back matter includes more information about rivers and the life they support. The author, Steve Van Zandt, wrote this book as a folk song with his band, the Banana Slug String Band. This book includes a CD of the band performing the song. Katherine Zecca’s realistic illustrations and Van Zandt’s lyrics bring young readers to the river’s edge.

Steve VanZandt is the program manager of the San Mateo Outdoor Education Program where his nature name is ‘Solar Steve.’ He is a former elementary teacher, a musician and the author of River Song. As a member of the band Banana Slug String Band, he performs with other environmental educators, interpreters and teachers. Their performances foster "positive attitudes about the environment, promote music appreciation, build self esteem in children, honor creativity, support the arts in education and spark in people a joyful sense of wonder." Visit their website at www.bananaslugstringband.com.

This post is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by The Book Nosher blog.