The Water Princess

Based on the childhood
experience of Georgie Badiel

G.P. Putnam's Sons

(published 9.13.2016)
40 pages 

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top  

A uthor: Susan Verde
      and Illustrator:  Peter H. Reynolds

C haracter: Georgie Badiel

O verview from the jacket flap: 

    "With its wide sky and warm earth, Princess Gie Gie's kingdom is filled with beauty. But clear drinking water is scarce in her small African village, and despite her commands, Gie Gie cannot bring the water closer; she cannot make it run learer. Every morning, she rises before the sun to take the long journey to the well, and every evening, after the voyage home, Gie Gie thinks of the trip that tomorrow will bring. And she dreams. She dreams of a day when her village will have coo, crystal-clear water of its own.
     Inspired by the childhood of Burkina Faso-born [fashion] model Georgia Badiel..."
    
T antalizing taste: 
     
    "I am Princess Gie Gie.
     My kingdom ... the African sky, so wide and so close.
     I can almost touch the sharp edges of the stars.
     I can tame the wild dogs with my song.
     I can make the tall grass sway when I dance.
     I can make the wind play hide-and-seek. 
     But I cannot make the water come closer.
     I cannot make the water run clearer.
     No matter what I command...

     'Sleep,' [Maman] says.
     'Dream,' she says.
     'Someday you will find a way, my princess.
     Someday.'"

and something more: The note at the back of the book explains the  the inspiration for The Water Princess:  "The [access to water] crisis is what motivated African model Georgie Badiel to work to make a difference and get clean water to those in need. As a young girl in Burkina Faso, Georgie spent her summers living with her grandmother. Every morning, Georgie and the other girls and women of the village walked for miles each day to fill pots with water and return it home to be used for the basics - drinking, bathing, cooking - only to wake up the next morning and make the journey again...
     In Burkina Faso alone, nearly a quarter of the population has no access to clean water. Both illnesses from contaminated water and the time it takes to collect water every day prevent many children from going to school...Together with Ryan's Well, Georgie is working to make a change and bring this basic right, this source of life, to the people of Burkina Faso and beyond." 
     The touching photographs of the girls and women collecting water and the celebration of the first well built by Georgie's foundation give me hope that more wells will financed and constructed.