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Most young children are familiar with Scholastic\u2019s I Spy<\/em> series of books- they are full of incredible and exacting visual challenges that help cultivate the reader\u2019s powers of observation.\u00a0 Photographer Walter Wick <\/a>is best known for his I Spy<\/em> work, but in his book A Drop of Water <\/a>he\u00a0utilizes his keen eye and artistic sensitivities to explore the physical properties of water.\u00a0 After years of \u00a0collecting old science books written for children over a century ago, Wick became fascinated with how they used illustrations to depict simple yet clever science experiments.\u00a0 He then began recreating the experiments and photographing them. \u201cThe results seemed magical,\u201d he writes, \u201cbut not because of any photographic trick; it was only the forces of nature at work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Many of the experiments he demonstrates in his book are the same as, or similar to, the ones used over a century ago.\u00a0 Wick\u2019s photographs are elegant and simple and inspire the same sense of artistic awe as his I Spy<\/em> work.\u00a0 While it is overwhelmingly spare in comparison, it invites the same sense of the marvelous by examining water in all of its forms.\u00a0 Using stop motion photography and magnification, he shows us lovely water splashes, amazing soap bubbles, ice, evaporation, condensation, snowflakes, frost, dew, water acting as a prism refracting light, how clouds form, and at the end, he reminds the reader how truly precious the water cycle is.\u00a0 The book concludes with a list of suggestions on how to make your own observations and experiments based on his work for the book.\u00a0<\/p>\n Curriculum Connections<\/strong><\/p>\n This is not a read-aloud book per se.\u00a0 For younger students learning about the states of matter (K.5a, K.5c),\u00a0an\u00a0educator\u00a0could use a picture walk through the book to show them the different properties and states of water.\u00a0 The strong visual component to this book would be exciting for students in the younger grades;\u00a0it\u00a0would be a good book to make available to students in the classroom library, to flip through and examine.\u00a0 Second graders would also find this book intriguing as they explore solids, liquids and gases (2.3), as would third graders learning more about the water cycle, evaporation, condensation, and precipitation (3.9a, 3.9b, 3.9c).\u00a0 Older elementary students with\u00a0stronger reading skills would be able to read more of the supporting text, which has scientific explanations of the experiments; for example, fifth graders could learn more about light’s interactions with water (5.3b).\u00a0 Sixth graders reinforcing their knowledge of\u00a0water’s properties in all three states (6.5b) might also enjoy having a fresh look at a familiar topic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n Behind the Scenes Feature:<\/a>\u00a0On Walter Wick’s web page, he provides a link to a behind the scenes feature for this book.\u00a0 He shows how he used a laser to stop a drop of water in mid-air.\u00a0 Young scientists and young photographers alike will be astounded by the elaborate methods used to capture some of the book’s stunning photographs of water.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Sticky Water:<\/a>\u00a0 This is a great page provided through the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco.\u00a0 Everyone loves bubbles and this link provides you with the science behind them.\u00a0 From a molecular discussion of water you can proceed to learn more about bubbles<\/a>, the forces that mold them, their shapes, how soap affects water’s surface tension<\/a>, and color and the effects of light on bubbles<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Drinking Water and Ground Water Kids’ Stuff<\/a>:\u00a0The EPA provides links to teacher resources for grades K-3<\/a>\u00a0and 4-8<\/a>, as well as games and activities for students in those grade levels.\u00a0 For K-3 students<\/a>, there are water cycle activities and an interactive water cycle, and for students in grades 4-8,<\/a> there are word scrambles, matching games, and a water purification by evaporation and condensation experiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Rader’s Geography4Kids.com: Hydrosphere Basics<\/a>:\u00a0Facts about our earth’s hydrosphere are presented here, with more links to facts about the hydrologic (water) cycle, freshwater, groundwater, seawater, clouds, and aquatic biomes.\u00a0 Students can also take a quiz on the hydrosphere and explore panoramas of aquatic biomes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n