This book details various environmental threats to rivers with a short description (usually about a paragraph on one page) of each one. Basic river ecology is covered in the first chapter and it’s stressed that humans depend on rivers as much as other animals. Key words are printed in red and are defined in text boxes on the same or next page. The book touches on a number of complex issues (ex: climate change, chemical runoff, etc.) and explains the basics in concise, simple language without skimping on meaning.  The final chapter offers solutions and hope, which helps keep the book from being so depressing that environmental problems are made too scary for children to face.

The back contains a glossary, index, three Common Core discussion questions, a short reference list of related books, and a link to a publisher-sponsored internet search engine.