Inspirational Children’s Book Addresses Civil Rights
"Lying on the ground, all I could see was the pipe. I'd never seen it from that angle before: The same pipe fed both fed both fountains! Two fountains. Two signs. But the same water in both!"
Based on the true-life experiences of author Michael S. Bandy, and co-authored with Eric Stein, White Water is a children's book that addresses the psychological implications of segregation on a young African-American boy growing up in the South in the 1960s.
White Water's captivating illustrations by Shandra Stickland capture the drama of the story as it unfolds from young Michael's perspective.
On a sweltering summer day, Michael is desperate for a drink of cold water after riding the bus into town. However, he is disappointed to find that the rusty water at the "Colored" drinking fountain cannot quench his thirst.
Dismayed, he notices that the boy drinking from the "White" fountain is gulping the water. The "White" water, Michael concludes, must be especially delicious.
Michael becomes obsessed with tasting that water. He fantasizes about it in class, has dreams about the consequences if he were ever caught at the "White" fountain, and finally, decides to taste it. To his shock, the "White" water is just as unpalatable as his own which leads Michael to the conclusion, "The sign over the fountains had put a bad idea in my head. But they were a lie. If they weren't real, what else should I question?" Michael becomes conscious of the negative psychological implications segregation has had on him. He is overjoyed to realize that he and the white boy are equals, just as the "White" water is fundamentally the same as the "Colored" water.
White Water ends on a triumphant note. Intended for readers ages 5 and up, White Water is an uplifting story which introduces children to American history and demonstrates that, as Michael says, "Maybe everything I thought I couldn't do was just in my imagination....That's when I realized - I could do anything."
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