" <p>Children organize to clean up an algae-slimed swimming hole...The well-meaning text concentrates more on delivering message and information than telling a story, but Pastuchiv offers readers plenty to discover for themselves in her impressionistic paintings. Each river scene is generously populated with dozens of identifiable birds, insects and other wildlife—all listed at the end, though without a visual key.</p> "
- Kirkus Reviews,
"...an environmental story that's part cautionary tale, part call to action...Pastuchiv's (<em>Minas and the Fish</em>) earth-toned paintings are dappled with light; her human characters have a rough, sketchlike quality, particularly compared to the more precise portrayals of wildlife and lush vegetation."
- Publishers Weekly,
"This story will resonate with everyone who splashed in a stream as a child."
- Paul T. Zeph, Former President, North American Association for Environmental Education,
"If a river could talk, it would sound like Riparia."
- Paper Tigers,
"A wonderful, empowering story for children who will inherit the rivers."
- The Midwest Book Review,