Nonfiction Monday: Make a splash: A kid's guide to protecting our oceans, lakes, rivers and wetlands by Cathryn Berger Kaye and Philippe Cousteau

This is one of the better books on environmental activism for kids that I have seen. It doesn't shy away from the grim realities of the pollution and other issues affecting water, but it also offers a plethora of real-life examples of things kids can do to make the problem seem more manageable.

The one drawback is the book's rather chaotic construction. It takes almost 15 pages just to explain all the different features of the book before it starts. The real-life stories are broken up into sections in the chapters and it can be hard to pick up the threads of the different stories when they pop up again.

The book also includes not only the real-life examples, but suggestions of projects and research ideas kids can use, facts about water and oceans, photographs, illustrations, and sources for more information and ideas. Most of the factual information centers around oceans, but the real-life examples are focused more on lakes and conserving water.

Verdict: The book is eye-catching and will probably get a few kids to pick it up and browse, but I would expect this book to be most useful when it's introduced to kids by a teacher or librarian and used as a blueprint for instruction and community projects.

ISBN: 9781575424170; Published November 2012 by Free Spirit; Egalley provided by publisher through Netgalley; Purchased for the library