Water Witcher

Front Cover
Little Hare Books, 2008 - Juvenile Fiction - 32 pages

When a family's experience in Depression-era Australia is told through one boy's eyes, the optimism of childhood shines through despite harsh conditions

Dougie and his sisters can't remember the last time it rained. The rainwater tanks are empty, and the creek is just a string of muddy pools where birds and animals come, seeking water. One day, Dougie's dad tells him about his grandfather's gift for water divining, or witching. Dougie wishes he were a water witcher--then they would have a well of their own, always full of water. So Dougie teaches himself the art of water divining and, despite his sisters' teasing and his mother's skepticism, he discovers a night soak of fresh water. Jan Omerod's stunning, evocative illustrations make this a rich and resonating book.

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About the author (2008)

Jan Ormerod was born in Australia on September 23, 1946. She attended art school and studied drawing, painting and sculpture. After completing her degree, she become an Associate of the Western Australian Institute of Technology and Design in Art Education, taught in secondary schools on enrichment programs for talented students, and lectured in a teacher's college and in art schools. Her first picture book, Sunshine, was published in 1981, won the Mother Goose Award, and was voted Australian Picture Book of the Year. She wrote and illustrated more than 50 books in her lifetime including Miss Mouse's Day, Lizzie Nonsense, Rhymes around the Day, Father Christmas and the Donkey, Ben Goes Swimming, Emily Dances, A Twist in the Tail, and Ponko and the South Pole. She also illustrated Sky Dancer by Jack Bushnell. She died after a long illness on January 23, 2013 at the age of 67.

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