Books About Water 
The literary resources for water- related issues are endless! Here are some good starting points to expanding your knowledge of the vastness of water concerns.
Children’s Books
Water: The Elements, by Ken Robbins
A look at water in its many varied forms and uses. Brief text guides readers through its liquid, gaseous, and solid states; through water for amusement, survival, agriculture, power, and simple beauty. Reading level: Ages 5-8. For descriptions of other books in this series, visit this website.
A Drop Around the World, by Barbara Shaw McKinney and illustrator Michael Maydak
An "out of sight" journey from Maine to Mumbai with just one raindrop, as it touches plant, animal, and human life all around the world. Reading level: Ages 9-12.
Water Dance, by Thomas Locker
This book is a happy marriage of art and science, using a different approach to describe the water cycle. Reading level: Ages 9-12.
Not a Drop to Drink: Water for a Thirsty World, by Michael Burgan
The scarcity of clean drinking water will have dramatic consequences for humanity in the 21st century: water disputes could spark regional conflict, while increased desertification and drought could affect world food supplies and the future of farming. Not a Drop to Drink conveys a clear message to young readers about this precious commodity and our urgent need to conserve it. Reading level: Ages 9-12.
World Water Watch, by Michelle Koch
By focusing on six creatures that live in the world's oceans and surrounding lands, the book exposes some of the reasons they have become endangered. Reading level: Ages 4-8.
Why Should I Save Water?, by Jen Green and illustrator Mike Gordon
In this book, boys and girls are told about dozens of ways in which they and their families can avoid wasting water. Part of a four-book Why Should I? series. Reading level: Ages 4-8.
Non-Fiction
Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource, by Marq de Villiers
Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction in Canada, de Villiers's important, compelling, highly readable report on the looming global water crisis sounds a wake-up call for concerned citizens, environmentalists, policymakers and water-drinkers everywhere.
When the Rivers Run Dry: Water – The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century, by Fred Pearce
From the Amazon to the Nile, the Congo to the Colorado, the rivers of the world are running dry. Pearce cogently presents the alarming ways in which this ecological emergency is affecting population centers, human health, food production, wildlife habitats, and species viability.
Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water, by Maude Barlow
A follow-up to Blue Gold (2002), addressing the state of the global water crisis. The major focus here is on water privatization and how it has affected countries in Asia, Africa, and beyond. This is an intelligent resource for anyone interested in environmental concerns. For more resources (by this and other authors) and to learn more about what you can do to protect the world’s fresh water from the growing threats of trade and privatization, visit the Blue Planet Project.
Song for the Blue Ocean: Encounters Along the World's Coasts and Beneath the Seas, by Carl Safina
Safina encourages readers to take a wider interest in the oceans, especially because so much of that great blue expanse is now threatened by human progress. This tour of the world's waters may inspire readers to press for changes in the way that fish is brought to their tables, and to take a more careful look at the natural processes that govern this watery planet. For more titles by this author visit the Blue Ocean Institute, founded in part by Safina, and which is the only conservation organization that uses science, art, and literature to inspire action in protecting our planet’s oceans.
The Empty Ocean, by Richard Ellis
Pollution, bioinvaders, overkilling, and underthinking have put the entire marine world, which, as Ellis writes, is "more intricately woven" than a rain forest in peril, and the only hope for reversing this catastrophic loss is to channel informed concern.
King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon, by David Montgomery
Drawing on a combination of scientific, historical, sociological and political research, Montgomery, traces the tragic and steady decline in salmon populations all over the world, while demonstrating how the decline has been caused by pollution of rivers, damming rivers and clear-cutting forests, overfishing, and ignoring regulations and laws.
The Blue Death: Disease, Disaster, and the Water We Drink, by Robert D. Morris
Across time and around the world, this riveting account offers alarming information about the natural and man-made hazards present in the very water we drink. For more information, background and reviews of this book, visit this website.
Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It, by Elizabeth Royte
An investigation of one of the greatest marketing coups of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the history and ramifications of those ubiquitous plastic and glass bottles. For more titles and resources from this author, visit this website.
Literature
The Log from the "Sea of Cortez", by John Steinbeck
In 1940 Steinbeck sailed in a sardine boat with his great friend the marine biologist, Ed Ricketts, to collect marine invertebrates from the beaches of the Gulf of California. The day-to-day story of the trip is told here, which combines science, philosophy and high-spirited adventure.
The Forgotten Peninsula: A Naturalist in Baja California, by Joseph Wood Krutch
The author deftly weaves the materials of natural and human history into a radiant, tightly woven story.
Reports
The World's Water 2008-2009: The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources, ed. Peter Gleick
Published every two years by Island Press, The World's Water provides both detailed analysis of the most significant trends and events and up-to-date data on water resources and their use. They are essential references for water resources specialists, resource economists, planners, students, and anyone concerned with water issues. Gleick is the President of the Pacific Institute, which works to create a healthier planet and sustainable communities by conducting interdisciplinary research and fostering international partnerships.
Boiling Point, by the Polaris Institute
This report Investigate six community profiles of the water crisis facing First Nations within Canada. Published by the Polaris Institute, which works with citizen movements in developing strategies to unmask and challenge the corporate power behind public policy making on economic, social and environmental issues.
Changing the Flow: A Blueprint for Federal Action on Freshwater, by the Gordon Water Group
This report outlines the steps necessary to create an effective freshwater strategy in Canada. For further publications, visit the Water Sustainability Project, which seeks to establish a new water paradigm based on conservation, stewardship and sustainability.
Clean Water, Green Jobs: A Stimulus Package for Sustainable Water Investment, by the Alliance for Water Efficiency
This report proposes an approach to investment that has the potential to make Canada a global leader in 21st century solutions to water infrastructure problems. The Alliance for Water Efficiency is a broad-based non-profit organization dedicated to the efficient and sustainable use of water in the United States and Canada, and manages an extensive resource library.
Canada’s Rivers at Risk: Environmental Flows and Canada’s Freshwater Future, by World Wildlife Fund
This report assesses how human pressures are affecting environmental flows in 10 of the nation’s rivers, and proposes solutions to avert a water crisis in Canada. The World Wildlife fund of Canada tackles many conservation challenges, such as water related issues, to build a sustainable future for nature and for people.
At A Watershed: Ecological Governance and Sustainable Water Management in Canada, by The POLIS Project on Ecological Governance
This report presents detailed global solutions to apply a national sustainable water management strategy in the broader context of ecological governance. At a Watershed is a collaborative project involving both The POLIS Project on Ecological Governance and the Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria.
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