Synopses & Reviews
A look at the seasons and wildlife around a small pond
-- More than a dozen engaging poems celebrate the animal life of a pond throughout the year
Spring song: frog spawn
Eggs hatch: a crowd of tadpoles on the go.
Tails shrink, legs and lungs grow.
Froglets on land leapfrog about,
See sky, catch dinner on the fly,
Sing frog songs long and loud!
Ducks, butterflies, fish, and dragonflies -- their life cycles all revolve around the pond that is at the center of these 14 delightful poems abou wildlife and the seasons. Each poem focuses on one animal, lyrically describing how it nests, plays, and responds to the changing seasons.
Gentle watercolor images by award-winning illustrator Ann Blades capture the hues and textures of the seasons and the detail of each animal. In the springtime, floating tadpoles grow into brown-spotted frogs, and blue butterflies flit among the clover, basking in the sun. In summer, snakes slither in dark green grass, and at night, bats swoop in the darkening sky. Fall brings a bustling of squirrels, busily storing food in trees decked in red and gold. And in winter. hidden under the pond's frozen surface. hibernating turtles await the return of spring. Sue Ann Alderson's poetry in "Pond Seasons" will make learning about wildlife and the outdoors fun and easy for young children.