White Water

Inspired by the segregated Southern childhood of co-author Michael S. Bandy, this iconographic-animated adaptation of the 2011 picture book—co-written by Eric Stein—features illustrations by Shadra Strickland. Using public transit to venture into town to buy oats for their mules, young Michael and his grandmother know the drill: at the bus stop, they must get up for a white lady and her son, and after the bus does show up, the pair pay the fare and enter through the back doors. Reaching their destination on this hot day, Michael is eager for a drink of even the warm rusted liquid from the “colored” water fountain, although he doesn't enjoy it as much as the white boy from the bus seems to from “his” spout. Suddenly, Michael has another type of thirst: “I just had to know what that white water tasted like.” Haunted by this desire, Michael experiences both daydreams and nightmares that illustrate his uncertainty, until the day he fakes being sick in order to sneak away and try the white-only fountain…with eye-opening results. A thought-provoking tale of self-discovery, this is recommended. Aud: E, P. (J. Williams-Wood)