Almost Nothing, yet Everything

Ages 6 And Up, Grades K to 5

Existing in myriad forms, containing multitudes in its reflection, and coursing through each and every one of us, water sustains the world around us—and life itself.

Artist Ryōji Arai and poet Hiroshi Osada, the Japanese team behind critically acclaimed Every Color of Light, offer up another meditation on the natural world in this ode to water. A lyrical moment between parent and child in a boat on a river unfolds into an examination of the water that surrounds them, and the nature and life sustained by it: "It’s only oxygen and hydrogen. Simple as could be, and yet nothing means more to life as we know it." Arai's lush art and Osada's evocative poetry, beautifully translated from Japanese by David Boyd, work together to enchant readers and refresh their spirit, opening their eyes to the wonders of water, the universe, and life.

About the Author

Hiroshi Osada debuted as a poet with This Journey. In 2000, his first collaboration with Ryōji Arai, A Forest Picture Book, earned the Kōdansha Publishing Culture Award for Children's Literature.Ryōji Arai has an illustrative style all of his own: bold, mischievous, and unpredictable, at once genuine and truly poetic. He took the Japanese picture-book world by storm in the 1990s with his debut picture book, Melody. Since then, he has won many awards, including the international Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2005, the highest international award in children's literature.David Boyd is Assistant Professor of Japanese at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His translations have appeared in Monkey Business International, Granta, and Words Without Borders, among other publications.