Turn Off the Tap!

Turn Off the Tap! is one of six books in Crabtree’s “Good to Be Green” series that encourages children to embrace environmentally friendly habits. The copyright pages in all the books contain a number of suggested “Before, During and After Prompts” while the penultimate page, “A note about sharing this book”, is directed at any adults who may be reading the book with (a) child(ren).This section explains the book’s purpose and suggests ways that adults can use the book with children. The “Good to Be Green” books have all been illustrated by Diane Ewen whose cartoon style artwork presents readers with multiracial characters.

In Turn Off the Tap!, readers follow a little girl, Tia, from the time she gets up in the morning until she goes to bed at night. Throughout the day, Tia’s mother identifies situations in which water is being wasted while also suggesting means by which it can be saved. Mom’s advice begins first thing in the morning when Tia leaves the tap running while brushing her teeth. Asking her mother to wash her favorite T-shirt so she can wear it that very day, Tia is told. “Not today!...I only do the washing once a week to save water and energy.” A dripping kitchen tap sees Tia being sent for the tool box so that mom can fix it. When mother and daughter wash the family car, they use a bucket of soapy water instead of the garden hose. Tia’s running the tap to get a cold glass of water causes Mom to point out, “‘There’s a jug of cool water in the fridge.’” That evening, a helpful Tia goes outside to water the flower garden, but, before she can fill the watering can from the tap, Mom points to the rain barrel. Tia’s quick pre-bedtime shower is followed by a trip to the toilet where, after flushing it, a now more water-aware Tia remarks, “What a waste!” However, Mom clarifies, “‘Don’t worry, Tia,” said Mom. ‘That water will be recycled so it can be used again.’” In a number of instances, the author, via text printed on a blue background, adds some factual information related to a water-saving situation. For instance, when Mom fixes the leaking tap, a seemingly small loss of water, Chancellor adds: “Around the world, people use billions of tons of fresh water every day. A large amount of this water is wasted by leaking pipes and dripping taps.”

Following the main text, Chancellor provides a five-question true/false test plus a “Get Active” page that offers four suggestions of water conservation related activities that the book’s readers could do. In Turn Off the Tap!, readers are invited to make a poster showing ways to save water, construct a water gauge to measure rainfall, perform an experiment related to plants’ needing water to grow, or, using a video camera or smartphone, shoot a short film about saving water. The book’s final page is shared by a glossary and an index, with the former consisting of words that had been bolded in the text.

Chancellor’s brief, nondidactic story-like text and Ewen’s colorful and fun illustrations together make Turn Off the Tap! a useful addition to water conservation collections, particularly those for Early Years students.