The Water of Possibility

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

In the Same Boat is a new series that offers children compelling stories
by accomplished Canadian writers from different cultural backgrounds.

Twelve-year-old Sayuri Kato hates to leave her city in Eastern Canada,
but her father has a new job in a small Alberta town and her mother’s
work—writing—is portable. Sayuri heads west fearing “eternal
boredom.” Instead, when she and her little brother Keiji enter the
cellar of their new home, they find themselves in a magical kingdom
called Living Earth. There they encounter a giant mountain woman who
befriends them. She shows them the “Water of Possibility” in which
they must dip their hands twice—once for something good and once for
something bad. But Keiji runs off and soon finds himself lost. Sayuri
sets out to find him and is helped in her search by mystical creatures
that include a “kappa” and a shape-shifting fox.

Meanwhile, Keiji encounters Patriarch, a fox with human hands, who
takes Keiji prisoner. Then, Sayuri is caught and jailed. Reunited, the
children draw on the help of other imprisoned creatures to defeat the
deadly enemy.

While reading this book, one thinks of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia Series,
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and the wildly popular Harry
Potter books. Fantasy lovers will enjoy this new realm and the brave
exploits of the youngsters on whom much depends. What the children learn
on their adventure helps them appreciate their family in a whole new
way. Highly recommended.