By Michael & Eric Bandy & Stein
Illustrated by Shadra Strickland
For a young boy growing up in the segregated south, a town drinking fountain becomes the source of an epiphany.
It’s a scorching hot day, and going into town with Grandma is one of the Michael’s favorite things. When the bus pulls up, they climb in and pay their fare, get out, walk to the back door, and climb in again. By the time they arrive in town, Michael’s throat is as dry as a bone, so he runs to the water fountain. But after a few sips, the warm, rusty water tastes gross. Why is the kid at the “Whites Only” fountain still drinking? Is his water clear and refreshingly cool? No matter how much trouble Michael might get into, he’s determined to find out for himself. Based on a transformative experience coauthor Michael Bandy had as a boy, this compelling story sheds light on the reality of segregation through a child’s eyes, while showing the powerful awareness that comes from daring to question the way things are.
- This inspirational story is based on a real event in author Michael Bandy's life, and while portraying some of the harsh realities inherant to US Civil Rights history, the inclusive, moving message of infinite possibilities available to all, no matter race or economic background, resonates particularly fresh in the post-Obama world.
- Brought to gorgeous visual life by Coretta Scott King / John Steptoe Award-winning illustrator Shadra Strickland of Bird and Our Children Can Soar, White Water's pages vividly evoke a steaming hot summer day in the south.
- White Water has been adapted into a screenplay which awarded the authors a Bill Cosby Screenwriting Fellowship, and in 2008, the screenplay was a finalist in the 13th International Family Film Festival.
About the author
Michael S. Bandy caught the writing bug when his third-grade teacher surprised him with a set of Dr. Seuss books. He’s been writing plays, screenplays, and books ever since. He lives in Los Angeles and is involved in a number of children’s charities. Eric Stein has written for the children’s TV series Star Street and was a supervising producer on the animated special Defender of Dynatron City. He is also on the dive team at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, where he swims with the sharks almost every weekend.
About the illustrator
Shadra Strickland is the illustrator of Bird, for which she won the Ezra Keats Award and the John Steptoe award, and Our Children Can Soar, for which she won the NAACP Image Award. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
