Taylor-Butler, Christine. Hydrology: The Study of Water.

Taylor-Butler, Christine.     Hydrology: The Study of Water.      Scholastic/ Childrens Press   48p   $28.00      978-0-531-24677-1           elem  Series: A True Book (Scholastic/Childrens)      Good       

This concise little book about hydrology is full of information for young children, describing the study of water, how ancient civilizations dealt with water issues, the Hoover Dam and its workings, what hydrologists are doing today, and more.  In general, it is an engaging book, and, like the other books in this series, it begins by posing a question that the young reader needs to answer by reading the book.  There are statistics, a glossary, a list of resources for further information, and a short list of places to visit (including our own Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center).

There are a few problems, however, that should be corrected in subsequent editions of the book.  First is a factual misstatement on page 34: “Ice floats on water because it contains air.”  This is not true.  In fact, ice floats because it is less dense than water.  The other problems are more grammatical than factual, but they should be corrected nonetheless.  On page 29, “softwater” and “freshwater” are used as nouns, when they are really adjectives.  On page 34 “unpure” is used, and it is not a word in the dictionary.  (The correct word is “impure”.)  On page 32, a sentence should be added at the end of the paragraph, and that sentence would be “This is called the boiling point.”  If these problems are corrected, this book would be excellent.    

Hydrology: The Study of Water is part of the A True Book series.                                                                    --Carol Kennedy