'Adventures of Wonder' published by water conservancy district

The Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District commissioned and published a book called “The Adventures of Wonder,” which follows a tiny Upper Gunnison Basin snowflake that makes a big difference, written by Chris Dickey, illustrated by Kirsten Dickey, and printed by B&B Printers. 

The story follows a water droplet named Wonder on her “adventures” across the Upper Gunnison Valley. She begins the story as a snowflake on Mount Crested Butte and then melts into the river where she provides drinking water for residents, participates in recreation, assists with ranching, provides habitat for fish, generates electricity, and even travels through the ground water system, eventually evaporating and becoming a snowflake again. Wonder teaches young readers about the water cycle and our local water resources. 

Through brainstorming sessions and consultations with education specialists, the concept of Wonder was brought to life by Chris and Kirsten Dickey and District staff. 

According to District General Manager Sonja Chavez: “The purpose of creating this story came from a desire to better connect young readers to the importance of water resources in our valley through place-based storytelling. We also wanted an engaging character that staff could utilize in the future to help us continue to educate our youth. And of course it had to capture the beauty of the Upper Gunnison Basin. You’ll see many recognizable landmarks, and you might even recognize a local rancher in the illustrations – the Dickey’s did a beautiful job.” 

Last week, author Chris Dickey read the story to the entire first grade class at Gunnison Elementary School and Division 1 Director Camille Richard read the story to first-graders at the Lake City Community School. The district sent all first-grade students in the entire Gunnison Watershed School District home with their own copy of the book so that they could practice their reading skills over the summer.