Written by: Jane Yolen
Illustrated by: Barbara Cooney
Intended grade level: 3-5
Have you ever wondered how the Quabbin Reservoir affected the people living in the valley? Have you ever felt tricked into doing something for someone else? Have you ever felt sad about something you did not want to do? Well here is the story for you! Learn how the people of the valley dealt with the big change, and how they learned to live with this big change.
This historical fiction picture book creates a wonderful insight on how the people of the valley really felt about the Quabbin Reservoir and how it was built. The pictures show great detail of emotion as well as how the Reservoir destroyed the land after it had been damned up. The Massachusetts State Legislature decided to hold a meeting in Boston sixty miles away from where the Reservoir would be built. No one from the nearby towns could attend and the deal was made that the Reservoir would be built. All the small neighboring towns had to move away and everything was destroyed. Although we can empathize for these people having to hive up their homes for what the state considered to be a "greater good" throughout the story there was not very much "blame" The story displays the hardships the towns people had to go through in order for this Reservoir to be built. The pictures keep the reader interested and on track. They provide great visuals to the text and help with the flow of the story!
Letting the Swift River Go is a great story to read to 3-5th graders! Incorporating this into the classroom curriculum will be simple and easy because it has many social studies aspects to it. It also incorporates the theme of doing something for a bigger cause. It is a great story that will allow the reader to feel the emotion of the characters within the story!
