From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-Morrison observes and describes this habitat through the seasons. There are pages with a few short sentences accompanied by a small watercolor vignette as well as double-page scenes with a few paragraphs of text. Notes set in tiny type relate facts about the creatures, plants, or natural processes. Lovely, realistic watercolor paintings illustrate the text; small, detailed pencil drawings and diagrams accompany each note. Diagrams show how some ponds were formed by glacier movement and melting; the life cycles of the frog and caddisfly; how air moisture and mist form; and how a pond gets and loses its water. This lovingly crafted sketchbook has the potential to awaken in readers an awareness of the workings of nature. Read aloud at home or in the classroom, this title will be helpful in preparing for a trip to a pond or as an introduction to a discussion on preservation of the natural world. Barbara Taylor's Pond Life (DK, 1992) combines close-up color photographs and tidbits of information in a two-page introduction to each of eight pond insects and animals. Steve Parker's It's a Frog's Life (Reader's Digest, 1999) describes a year in the life of a frog and other pond denizens in scrapbook format.
Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OHCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Gr. 3-6. The rain and cold of late winter open this leisurely exploration of events that mark the seasons of a pond. Beginning with the appearance of red-winged blackbirds in early spring, Morrison documents in text and art the myriad plant and animal life that flourishes in and around the waters of a healthy pond, from pond lilies to fish and frogs and muskrats. The detailed watercolor illustrations are evocative and eyecatching. In some spreads, further information is presented in small ink drawings and tiny text tucked in below the main narrative. At times, this creates a disjointed effect, though the information is certainly pertinent. An attractive lesson that will be especially useful where pond ecology is part of the curriculum.
Denise WilmsCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
