The Water Princess book cover
Pre K - 3

The Water Princess

By Georgie Badiel

Illustrator: Peter H. Reynolds

Based on supermodel Georgie Badiel’s childhood, a young girl dreams of bringing clean drinking water to her African village

With its wide sky and warm earth, Princess Gie Gie’s kingdom is a beautiful land. But clean drinking water is scarce in her small African village. And try as she might, Gie Gie cannot bring the water closer; she cannot make it run clearer. Every morning, she rises before the sun to make the long journey to the well. Instead of a crown, she wears a heavy pot on her head to collect the water. After the voyage home, after boiling the water to drink and clean with, Gie Gie thinks of the trip that tomorrow will bring. And she dreams. She dreams of a day when her village will have cool, crystal-clear water of its own.

Inspired by the childhood of African–born model Georgie Badiel, acclaimed author Susan Verde and award-winning author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds have come together to tell this moving story. As a child in Burkina Faso, Georgie and the other girls in her village had to walk for miles each day to collect water. This vibrant, engaging picture book sheds light on this struggle that continues all over the world today, instilling hope for a future when all children will have access to clean drinking water.

State Awards

Recommended reading lists from your state's teacher or librarian associations!
  • Arkansas
    • Diamond Primary Book Award, 2018-2019
  • Illinois
    • Monarch Award, 2019
  • Kansas
    • Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award, 2018
  • Kentucky
    • Bluegrass Book Award, 2017-2018
  • Maine
    • Chickadee Award, 2017-2018
  • Nebraska
    • Golden Sower Award, 2018-2019
  • Michigan
    • Great Lakes, Great Books Award, 2018-2019
  • New Hampshire
    • Ladybug Picture Book Award, 2017
  • Pennsylvania
    • Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award, 2019-2020
  • Wisconsin
    • Picture This!, 2017
  • Missouri
    • Show Me Readers Award, 2018-2019
  • Colorado
    • Colorado Children's Book Award, 2021

Subscribe to our newsletter

Enter your email and date of birth

Month
Day
Year

By clicking Subscribe, I agree to receive news and updates from Penguin Random House about Michelle Obama. I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. You can opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information anytime.

Sorry, but we are unable to process your request at this time.

Thanks for subscribing!