Rivers: A Visual History from River to Sea

Over 70% of this globe consists of water in the form of oceans that embrace the land masses, while percolating through the continents are the many flowing rivers along which civilizations have hatched. In this strikingly engaging and vividly colored description of the major rivers on our planet, Belgian author and illustrator Peter Goes renders a phenomenally creative educational guide to understanding the role of rivers in our world. Combining geography, mythology, history, legends, explorers, and the natural biota associated with the waterways, he compellingly captures the readers’ interest. I cannot rave enough about this oversized book, with strikingly colored card-stock pages filled with whimsical sketches and short descriptive commentaries that intrigue the reader. Ask how an ocean differs from a sea, or read about the myth of Finn MacCool and how he gained all the world’s knowledge, or ponder about Sinbad the Sailor and his sea journeys. Did you know that Japanese spider crabs have legs that can span more than thirteen feet or that the blue whale’s tongue can weigh more than an elephant? This ingeniously illustrated tome describing the rivers of the world is encyclopedic with information and should be part of the inquisitive readers’ library from the age of seven to past seventy.