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 * WAY OF WATER**

Miho's backyard has always been the sea and the creatures within it an endless source of fascination. But when the sea steals away her family, she finds herself forced to live with an uncle she has never met and submerged in a world she has never known - Japan. From the city of Nayoga to the seaside town of Goza, Miho struggles to fit in and navigate the language, culture, and her own grief. It is also by the sea that she meets Gaia - the living entity of the earth. Gaia grants her amazing powers to connect with the "minds in the water." Miho is given access to and understanding of all the world's oceans, and her powers to take her to the other side of the world.

"A fast flowing adventure, Gaia Girls __WAY OF WATER__ will capture the imagination of both young and older audiences and with an undercurrent of caring and responsibility interwoven throughout the book, it will subtly instill a sense of conversation ethic for our oceans." -The Ocean Project



__**ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES PRESENTED IN WAY OF WATER**__




 * __ENGLISH 1__**


 * __JOURNAL RESPONSES__**




 * __LITERARY STANDARD RESPONSES__

See the quote below and click on student responses...**

__**Theme**__ The slick otter slipped back into the water and Miho took her place in the chair made from rock and relentless waves. Gaia rolled a few times and then stopped toes up. "An army eh?"

"Not like a bombs and guns kind of army. A...a...an army of understanding! So they can love the minds in the water, too!" Miho hoped that was what her mother was trying to tell her in the dream. She also hoped her army would have some ideas about how they would set up their nex mission. Miho had her sights set on the bottom trawlers. "I knew I chose wisely." Gaia's pleased voice seemed to magnify every spark that leapt off every wave. "You have done .well. Rest and enjoy the water as you did today. Soon enough you will meet the others; they will be the heart of your army.!" Just as Miho was about to ask who the others were, the brown eyes and twitching whiskers were gone. Miho smiled, now knowing that was just Gaia's way, to slip from the otter form that was easy to talk to, and once again become the soil and sand, the wind and water. After dinner, she presented her scroll to Ojisan. He smiled and read it aloud. "Kiromoto Center for Integrated Oceanic Research." He looked at Miho with enough questions to make him tilt his head a bit. Ojisan asked, "Why Integrated Oceanic Research?" "It's all connected ,Ojisan," Miho said. She felt kinda old and wise, as if her mother or maybe Sensei or maybe even Gaia were helping her find the right words. "How can we help the dolphins if the world they live in is ruined? We can't help them without looking to the deepest, darkest places. Wakarimashtaka?" "Hai."