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Walking for Water

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Written by Susan Hughes 
Illustrated by Nicole Miles
Toronto, ON : Kids Can Press, 2021. Informational.

Bictor and his twin sister Linesi are very close. They live in the Malawi village and seem to be your typical 8-year-old children. But, every day Bictor goes to school while his sister spends all day walking back and forth to get water for their family. Bictor never thinks twice about this until his new school teacher starts talking about equality between boys and girls. He begins to realize that there are traditions that need to change in his village. Bictor decides to do something about it! He starts to switch places with his sister, Linesi every other day so they both can attend school and learn. It takes some time, but the rest of the village begins to follow his example.

This powerful story is a great way to inspire children to start observing inequalities around them and help them see that no matter how old they are, they can make a difference. This is written in a way that is easy to understand keeps the reader's interest. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in informational picture books, books about life in other cultures, or passionate about gender equality.

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