The Vanishing Sea: The Tale of How the Aral Sea Became the Aral Desert
by Dinara Mirtalipova; illus. by the author
Primary    Chronicle    40 pp.
2/26    9781797224596    $18.99

The Aral Sea in Central Asia was once the world’s fourth largest lake. Today, in a powerful example of the consequences of human failure to be good stewards of the Earth, it’s been reduced to mostly desert, with a few pockets of water along the border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Mirtalipova tells an accessible story of what has often been described as one of the twentieth century’s greatest ecological disasters—and before the title page, a double-page spread visually documenting the “changing profile of the Aral Sea” from 1960 to 2021 makes this abundantly clear. Through a series of stylized folk-art-like illustrations rendered with a “soft pastel stenciling technique,” the book offers up a portrait of the origins of the Aral Sea, the people who once depended on their “caring mother” for fishing and drinking water, and the Soviet-era cotton-growing schemes that would lead to its demise. Cool blues give way to harsh red, heralding the coming of the industrial age; cotton blooms on the subsequent pages, but soon there was “no water to drink.” In her author’s note, accompanied by personal photos, Mirtalipova discusses her family’s connection to the area as well as a recent visit. Back matter also includes an illustrated timeline and a discussion of “local and global ecological impact.”

From the January/February 2026 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.