• Age: 0 to 3
• Grade: p
• Reading age: 0 to 2

A first conversation about the importance of Nibi, which means water in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe), and our role to thank, respect, love, and protect it. Babies and toddlers can follow Nibi as it rains and snows, splashes or rows, drips and sips. Written from an Anishinaabe water protector’s perspective, the book is in dual language: English and Anishinaabemowin.

Joanne Robertson is AnishinaabeKwe and a member of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek. She received her Fine Arts degree from Algoma University and Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig. She founded the Empty Glass for Water campaign to bring attention to the drinking water crisis in Indigenous communities. She works as a research assistant at the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre and continues to support the water walks. Joanne lives near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Joanne Robertson's profile page

• Commended, TD Summer Reading Club - Top Recommended Reads
• Commended, CCBC - Best Books for Kids and Teens - Fall
• Commended, American Indians in Children's Literature's Best Books of the Year
• Commended, The Educator’s Playbook list of Best Books for Young Readers of 2020

"Robertson's book is about water and the many ways that a child experiences it. You can swim or bathe in it, you can drink it, you can use it to wash your clothes... But Robertson reminds us that we need to care for it, that we have to respect, love, and protect it because, as the final page tells us, water is life."

Debbie Reese

"Like many board books, Nibi is Water = nibi aawon nbiish will assist youngsters in increasing their vocabulary, but this time, not in one but two languages. Perhaps more importantly, the board book provides an early introduction to the concept of caring for one of the world’s most important resources."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials