If the Rivers Run Free

by Andrea Debbink, Nicole Wong (Illustrator)

While rivers make up just a fraction of the water on Earth, they provide the majority of what we use every day. Rivers run over and through our world, and sometimes we don't even know they are there. But do we fully understand or even appreciate all that rivers can do? All over the world, cities large and small were built near rivers because of what they can provide: drinking water, transportation, power sources. But over the centuries as cities grew, the rivers became polluted by sewage and industrial waste, and their natural flow patterns were disrupted. Disease and flooding were often the result. In a short-sighted attempt to address these issues, city planners buried old rivers beneath city streets. But this solution brought more problems. Finally, a group of naturalists realized that freeing buried rivers could be the answer to managing urban waterways. In rhyming text, the fascinating story of "daylighting," unearthing and restoring buried rivers to their rightful places as source of well-being and beauty, comes to life.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Nature, Environment, Conservation, Science, Storytime

44 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 14, 2023

About the author

I'm a writer, editor, and habitual daydreamer. Before I became a full-time author, I spent nearly a decade as an editor at American Girl where I specialized in creating imaginative nonfiction content. Today I write books for children and adults. I believe that a good book can change a life—and the world.

Reviews

[Shoshanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this informative non fiction picture book about the history the the relationship between rivers and cities and the benefits of daylighting!

[Amanda up North · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Imagine a city where bold rivers run,
where they swirl and they sparkle and sing in the sun."

I loved that at the bottom of the page I just quoted, just beneath the illustration, it's stamped "International Falls Public Library."
International Falls happens to be significant Minnesota river town, located on the Rainy River, which forms part of the international boundary between the US and Canada. I've crossed the Rainy from International Falls to Fort Frances, Ontario many times. It's a very industrial crossing.

My local library, where I picked this book up, sits right on the bank of another river, the Mississippi.
I grew up on 80 acres on the Mississippi River way out in the country in its wild and free state. I love rivers, especially running free.

I found this unfinished review just now, several months after I read the book, and it makes me want to read it again. I recall that it shared environmental education on rivers and cities and their history and future. Important stuff.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

As anyone who's studied the history of civilization knows, many towns and cities were built near rivers. However, rivers, like much of nature, don't respond well to the needs of humans. As populations grew, engineers came up with a plan to deal with rivers efficiently. Instead of allowing them to follow their nature course, they decided to cover them in tunnels so the water would be below urban areas. This worked for a while, but eventually, the river water rose and flooded the areas. Experts decided that the engineers were wrong, and they freed the rivers, blasting the tunnels and setting some of them free. And to their delight, the rivers nurtured the surrounding habitat. The rhyming text and attractive supportive artwork depict the changes that can be made with a little forethought and effort, and while the power of rivers surely can be tamed to some extent, having parts of them able to run free makes for a richer environment. Youngsters will surely be intrigued to learn that there are rivers right under the streets where they're walking and may want to learn more about projects to restore the rivers. This interest might lead to a project investigating dams and their effects on rivers and the environment.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This nonfiction rhymed text opens with a potent challenge to thinking: As you run down an urban sidewalk, there could be a river flowing under your feet. From that point, the minimal but direct text clarifies that rivers have always been the fountainheads of communities, but as those communities expanded, joined they overwhelmed the capacity for the rivers to serve the people (and sustain themselves).
I found this to be both visually and conceptually effective, with a hopeful conclusion that cites several actual large cities that have managed to re-open those enclosed and restrained rivers to allow them to function on land's surface, as they were meant to be.
Back matter and those actual examples provide meaty material for young readers and their communities to ask themselves- where are the rivers below our city, and how can we free them?

[The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lyrical picture book ode to rivers containing an environmentally conscious message about "daylighting" (or unearthing) buried rivers to provide a number of ecological benefits. As a resident of a city with a buried river that has been daylighted in a few spots, I appreciate this message so much. The narrative of this book provides a nice scope of human's relationship to rivers as we've developed and grown with an invitation to consider what daylighting a river can do. The illustrations pair nicely with the story and capture the mystery and beauty of rivers. Back matter in the book contains more detailed information about rivers and daylighting for children who are interested.

***Note: I was given a review copy of this book via Publisher's Spotlight. Opinions are my own.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

In poetic couplets, Andrea Debbink offers a celebration of the beauty and history of rivers, how they flow, how people diverted and polluted them, what is being done to clean them up. Nicole Wong's illustration show the beauty and the harm in gorgeous full pages, wrapping into and around the words. There is added information in a double-page spread at the back, "The Wonder of Rivers". This would be a perfect place to start a study of a river in one's own area. What is its history, how is its health, is there an organization taking care of it? It's a book to enjoy and spark interest in this part of nature many take for granted.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book about the rivers around our world. The rhyming text reads like a pleasant, flowing poem. The illustrations are gentle and lovely. It is the message though. In some ways this could be categorized as nonfiction. It shares the history of rivers and how humans have changed, harmed, and in some ways restored the natural rivers that flow around the world. It's a message of caution about our natural world but an optimistic look at how humans can change previous mistakes. The brief text that lends itself to being read aloud is a beautiful book to share, but it's also an excellent starting point for so many discussions or classroom units.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
Interesting story about the history of humans and rivers

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A richly illustrated informational picture book filled with a gentle reminder of the harm people have done to the planet, and our change to make amends.