HEATHER FELL IN THE WATER

Young Heather experiences an interesting relationship with water in this slightly offbeat tale.

Heather falls into puddles—and horse troughs on the farm they visit, fountains at the art museum and the lake at the Japanese tea house. It gets so bad that her parents insist on her wearing water wings even in bed (there’s a small puddle with her clothes in it on the floor of her room). Heather figures that the water hates her. But when her parents note that she really needs to learn how to swim in case she meets up with some seriously deep water, she takes on the challenge and realizes that the water actually loves her. She promises to learn to swim if the water stops making her fall in all the time. She does, it does, and she goes on to swimming competitions as she gets older (with a little parental joke at the end). The watercolors are delightfully watery, and readers will actually see the water grin at Heather as she becomes more proficient. Heather keeps her determined expression throughout, but various animal companions are mostly smiling.

It’s hard to say whether this might convince fearful children that the water is their friend, but its sly attitude is definitely amusing. (Picture book. 4-8)