every last drop: bringing clean water home 

* Shortlisted for the Green Earth Book Award 2015, the Red Cedar Award 2015 and the Silver Birch Non-fiction Award; and selected for Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Best Books for Kids and Teens 2014 (starred selection)

In the developed world, if you want a drink of water you just turn on a tap or open a bottle. But for millions of families worldwide, finding clean water is a daily challenge, and kids are often the ones responsible for carrying water to their homes. Every Last Drop looks at why the world’s water resources are at risk and how communities around the world are finding innovative ways to quench their thirst and water their crops. Maybe you’re not ready to drink fog, as they do in Chile, or use water made from treated sewage, but you can get a low-flush toilet, plant a tree, protect a wetland or just take shorter showers. Every last drop counts!

Non-fiction for ages 8+

Reviews

“Mulder’s book will make readers stop and calculate … Lavishly illustrated with everything from woodcuts to photographs, the book is far from downbeat and scolding … Mulder writes with a clean, no-nonsense style … Informative, attractive and alarming – readers will think twice before leaving the water running as they brush their teeth.”

- Kirkus Reviews

“Young people will be amazed by the global initiatives: filtering arsenic-contaminated water in Bangladesh with iron nails, harvesting fog to gather fresh water in Chile, and more. Catchy’Go with the Flow’ headings, startling water facts, and color photos of children collecting and conserving water around the world make this high-interest reading.”

- Booklist

“This engaging book takes on the important task of explaining clean drinking water to middle school students … The writing style is a very accessible mixture of personal travel stories and interesting facts … This well-written book will be a welcome addition to any classroom or library collection … Highly Recommended.”

- CM Magazine

“Mulder’s conversational style is very readable and she tells so many anecdotes of families and communities around the world that this is a fascinating book.”

- Resource Links

[Starred review] “Ideal for reports, the book is packed with great information on everything from the way civilizations have collected and used water throughout history, sobering assessments of the present and future availability of clean water, and intriguing solutions already employed, such as fog catchers, or that are still in their experimental stages. Worthwhile factoids, sidebars, and interesting photographs accompanied by instructive captions add to the abundance of meaningful material. Mulder is honest about the emergency unfolding around this precious resource, and though the situation is fairly dire, she empowers her readers by offering feasible suggestions that individuals can use to improve things. And like raindrops falling into a collection barrel, each and every single conscientious action adds up. An excellent resource on the topic.”

- School Library Journal