In the Small, Small Pond, by Denise Fleming

Fleming, Denise. In the Small, Small Pond, 1993. 32 pages. $24.95, ISBN 0-8050-2264-3

AGE LEVEL
1 and 2 year-olds

GENRE
Picture book

REVIEW

This Caldecott honoree, a feast for the senses, describes the abundance of life in a little pond in words and pictures.  Several aspects about this book make it perfect for one to two year olds.  First of all, there are only four words on each two-page spread describing the activities of each animal.  Secondly, each of these phrases follows the same verb-verb-noun-verb pattern, such as “hover, shiver, wings quiver” or “circle, swirl, whirligigs twirl”.  And of course, the originality of Fleming’s artwork, created with colored cotton pulp and stencils, is enough to awakne anyone’s sense of wonder.  Striking blues, greens, and yellows of grasses, sky, and the pond itself form the backdrop for multi-hued images of brown and white geese swimming, purple fireflies skimming, and red lobsters crawling.  With its closing lines of “cold night, sleep tight, small, small pond”, this could even serve as a bedtime book.  Colorful dreams will be inspired by the images within.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
A good pond-related rhyme to pair with this book at toddler storytime is:

          FUNNY DUCKY

          Waddle, waddle, waddle ducky,
          waddle to the pond.
          (place thumbs in armpits and waddle like a duck)

          Paddle, paddle, paddle ducky,
          paddle round and round.
          (paddle with hands)

          Tail up, head down, funny little duck.
          Tail up, head down, funny little duck.
          (move head downward and place hands behind back to represent tail)