Review of We Are Water Protectors

Written by Carole Lindstrom, and illustrated by Michaela Goade

I have never read this book before.

Ratings: Amazon: 4.8 out of 5 stars. Goodreads: 4.52 out of 5 stars.

This book is Amazon’s #1 Best Seller in Children’s American Folk Tales & Myths, #1 New York Times Bestseller, and Winner of the 2021 Caldecott Medal, awarded Goodreads Choice Award, and Nominee for Best Picture Books for 2020.

Summary: This story was inspired by the indigenous-led movements across North America to safeguard Earth’s water.

In 2020, the Northampton PA Area School District school board voted to table a group of donated books, and this book was part of this group. These books were donated by a non-profit organization called “The Conscious Kid” which focused on equity and promoting healthy racial identity development. At a meeting, a parent accused this organization of using “Marxist critical race theory. Just like the ‘No Place for Hate’ program, Conscious Kid is not an ally for all.” When the book was awarded the Caldecott Medal, some librarians “expressed concern that children will not understand the metaphor of the black snake to a pipeline.”

My take: I don’t know how children would think the black snake is anything but a pipeline, plus the story has included the back story of Stand Rock and the oil pipeline protests. The black snake has the same lines and bolts as a pipe. I find this book similar to The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, which was also banned from a California school in 1989 because they believed it portrayed logging in a poor light to turn children against the logging industry.

So, what would make people try to ban this book? I find this book similar to The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, which was also banned from a California school in 1989 because they believed it portrayed logging in a poor light to turn children against the logging industry. As we all know, oil is crucial to keep this and other countries running.

Here are a few links about this book and the challenges or bans.

Banned Books 2022 – We Are Water Protectors – Marshall Libraries

Librarians Hesitate on We Are Water Protectors – Intellectual Freedom Blog (ala.org)

We Are Water Protectors – Wikipedia