Alemitu lives with her mother in a poor village in Ethiopia, where she must walk miles for water and hunger roars in her belly. Even though life is difficult, she dreams of someday knowing more about the world. When her mother has no choice but to leave her at an orphanage to give her a chance at a better life, an American family adopts Alemitu. She becomes Eva in her new home in America, and although her life there is better in so many ways, she'll never forget her homeland and the mother who gave up so much for her. Told through the lens that water connects all people everywhere, this eye-opening, emotional story will get readers thinking about the world beyond their own.

This book has been graded for interest at 4-8 years.

There are 32 pages in this book. This book was published 2014 by Bloomsbury Publishing USA .

ERIC VELASQUEZ is the author and illustrator of The Price of Freedom , Grandma's Records and Grandma's Gift , a Pura Belpre Award winner. He is also the illustrator of The Piano Man , for which he won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award. CHRISTINE IERONIMO traveled to Ethiopia in 2008 to adopt her daughter and was deeply affected by the poverty there. Since then she has been involved in many organizations focusing on education and other efforts in Ethiopia. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and four children.