Reviews
"An incredibly beautiful depiction of nature and all of its wonder. A story about renewal and changing seasons..This is a truly marvelous offering about our influence on nature and its influence on us. It is a celebration of all things natural in this world. This selection is sure to fascinate readers young and old. ...this gorgeous book will enchant and inspire." School Library Journal., Stories about nature often feature disappearing wildlife and dwindling habitats, but LaMarche ( Winter Is Coming ) shows how nature can rebound. Matt realizes that the little spring bubbling up through a trash pile near his house might once have been a pond. He asks his friends Katie and Pablo to help him clean it up and dam the flow. As water begins to pool up behind their homemade dam, birds and animals appear. Canada geese used to pass overhead in the fall, but now "hundreds of them would fly down and rest on our pond." In LaMarche's spreads, the children--Matt and Katie are white, and Pablo appears to be Latino--are often viewed from a distance enjoying the paradise they've made, drifting on the water in a wooden dinghy, camping with Matt's father in the fall, and skating in the winter. The combination of children, water, trees, and birds offers many scenes of richness and wonder, and LaMarche's detailed artwork captures it in sharp focus. It's a powerful vision of making one's own wild place, with no special equipment or expenditure required. Ages 4-8., Matt, his sister, Katie, and his best friend, Pablo, revive a pond in the woods and enjoy it throughout the seasons. Gorgeous, softly colored illustrations add to the magic of this remembered experience. Done in acrylics, colored pencil, and opaque ink and accurate in their nature detail, they fill each double-page spread. Before and after scenes on the endpapers reveal the neighboring suburbs and city beyond, but, except for Matt's first venture out of his yard before the title page, the artist concentrates on the pond: its discovery, cleaning and rebuilding, the weather, the bugs, the old rowboat, the birds, and the joys of being in and around the water. Katie collects feathers to make the necklace she wears throughout the summer, reads about the creatures they encounter, and shares what she's learned. A grand, wordless spread looks down on the children enjoying their pond, inviting readers into this idyllic world. There's a campout to end the summer, skating in the winter, and a slim plot involving a heart-shaped piece of blue quartz. Matt and Katie are white, and Pablo has darker hair and skin; these are the Wisconsin children of the author-illustrator's childhood. (Is it the adult artist painting the pond on the final page?) A loving portrayal of a never-forgotten connection with the natural world. (Picture book. 4-8), The combination of children, water, trees, and birds offers many scenes of richness and wonder, and LaMarche's detailed artwork captures it in sharp focus. It's a powerful vision of making one's own wild place, with no special equipment or expenditure required. * PUBLSHERS WEEKLY, starred review, LaMarche utilizes a soft palette of acrylics, colored pencils, and opaque inks in warm earth tones with lots of yellow and blue. While the book notes the passing of seasons, the final end pages show an idyllic world in spring, a reminder of new possibilities. -- Edie Ching, LaMarche utilizes a soft palette of acrylics, colored pencils, and opaque inks in warm earth tones with lots of yellow and blue. While the book notes the passing of seasons, the final end pages show an idyllic world in spring, a reminder of new possibilities. -- Edie Ching, "An incredibly beautiful depiction of nature and all of its wonder. A story about renewal and changing seasons..This is a truly marvelous offering about our influence on nature and its influence on us. It is a celebration of all things natural in this world. This selection is sure to fascinate readers young and old. ...this gorgeous book will enchant and inspire." School Library Journal., A grand, wordless spread looks down on the children enjoying their pond, inviting readers into this idyllic world. A loving portrayal of a never-forgotten connection with the natural world. * KIRKUS, starred review, The combination of children, water, trees, and birds offers many scenes of richness and wonder, and LaMarche's detailed artwork captures it in sharp focus. It's a powerful vision of making one's own wild place, with no special equipment or expenditure required. * PUBLSHERS WEEKLY, starred review
