Pond Year

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This elegy to algae will tantalize even the finicky with its playful presentation of creative pond-slumming. Two six-year-olds-Carole and the unnamed narrator-kick off a year of pond games in April: still wearing mittens, they fashion miniature rafts from twigs with leaves for sails. As temperatures rise, scum spreads and thickens over the water; the girls then wade thigh-high and emerge with elegant ``mud silk'' stockings. After gathering frogs'-egg jelly, the ``scum chums'' watch as tadpoles form. Later they construct luge-style mudslides for racing crawdads; examine the "secret" ladyslippers, salamanders, damselfly wings, etc.; and, finally, see their reflections in November's clear black ice. Laced with informative facts and brimming with Bostock's (Think of an Eel) at once exuberant and delicate watercolors, this book is both a comical salute to friendship and a field guide. Ages 4-up. (May)

Children's Literature - Victoria Crenson

Making stick and leaf boats, examining frog eggs, stalking crawdaddies, fashioning pond scum wigs for bald-headed baby dolls-these are just some of the delights that two friends share as "pond buddies, scum chums, forever." A celebration of both pond fun and friendship, Lasky's descriptions are an invitation to slip off our shoes and feel the ooze between our toes. Bostock's watercolors have the shimmery, reflective quality of still water. They hide as much as they reveal and hint at many pondside discoveries yet to be made.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3-Two six-year-old girls are ``pond buddies.'' All through the seasons they play together in or around the neighborhood pond, discovering wonders from tadpoles to dragonflies. A good deal of information is couched in the nostalgic, gently humorous story. Large, brightly colored illustrations bring the watery world to life, but do less well for human beings. The best friends are depicted in stiff postures with doll-like faces, counteracting the text, which shows them as lively, curious, independent characters. Nevertheless, the book makes a good read-aloud, as well as a pleasant introduction to nature.-Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library