Imagine seeing a pond from the child’s and frog’s close view. The story begins with an Asian child seeing the frog jump into the water. The parade of animals in the pond includes tadpoles, geese, dragonflies, turtles, herons, minnows, whirligig bugs, swallows, crayfish, ducks, raccoons, and muskrats. Their interaction is observed by the frog all season long.  The frog is always in the picture.  From summer through preparation for winter the pond is active, colorful, and noisy. 

This book is perfect for 1-6 year olds.  Booklist says, “… listeners will get a kick out of the simple, yet bouncy rhymes, the brevity of which makes this book suitable for even the youngest.”  It is excellent to talk about nature, about rhyming words, and cause and effect (what makes this sound?)   In this book Ms. Fleming produces a stunning companion to her award winning book, In the tall, tall grass (1991, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor).  She uses the same concise rhyming pattern (splitter, splatter, minnows scatter) and the same type of pictures produced with colored cotton pulp. From Publishers Weekly, “Fleming's color-saturated handmade paper technique makes for dramatic tapestries that feature both sharp contrast and subtle shading.” The result is a brilliantly colored pleasing read of nature’s cycle of life. The colors move from summer green and yellow to fall red and orange to cold and barren brown and white.

Kirkus Reviews says, “Another perfect introduction to nature for the very young.”  Publishers Weekly says, “Young children are introduced to the basic habits of common North American wildlife and the characteristics of changing seasons even as they are treated to an array of zipper verbs.”

This is a pleasing book to hear and see.  The pictures are a work of art beautiful enough to frame. Ingram says, “Denise Fleming's vibrant art and rhyming text make this frog's eye view of life in a small, small pond irresistible.”

Caldecott Honor Book

ALA Notable Book

School Library Journal Best Book

Publishers Weekly Best Book

 Review of In the small, small pond in Kirkus Reviews. Available from

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805059830//qid=1095037173/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-3926711-3700639?v=glance&s=books&vi=reviews.  Accessed  12 September 2004.