Look! Look!
by Uma Krishnaswami; illus. by Uma Krishnaswamy
Primary    Groundwood    32 pp.
4/24    9781773069326    $19.99
e-book ed.  9781773069333    $16.99

A young girl passes by an unremarkable patch of ground on her way to and from school. One day she notices “something small and gray beneath a clump of weeds.” She and her friends clear some of the weeds and accumulated garbage and find “stones upon even more stones.” The children tell their elders, and word spreads throughout the neighboring villages. Everyone helps dig until they unearth steps leading to an ancient well. The girl’s grandmother recalls stories from long ago about old wells that caught rainwater. And when the rains come, waking up “deep, sleeping springs,” they send water to the old well. Slowly the dry and dusty fields turn green, and butterflies, bees, crickets, and other creatures return. Resembling tribal Gond art, the acrylic, poster-color, and watercolor illustrations are rich with details of traditional Indian village life, including people collecting firewood, women balancing water pots, carts piled with fruits and vegetables. Accompanying the lively prose, Krishnaswami’s refrain— “Look! Look!”—captures the joy of discovery that unites the community. As the villagers work together to clear out the abandoned well, they learn about ancient methods of water preservation that bring the fields, flora, and fauna back to life. An author’s note provides context.

From the July/August 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.