In the Small, Small Pond

Title: In the Small, Small Pond

Author and Illustrator: Denise Fleming

Publisher and date of Publication: Henry Holt and Company, 1993

Genre: Picture Book, Informative Text

Age Range: K-1st Grade

Awards: Caldecott Honor Book

Summary : This book takes the reader back to the summertime at a pond and shows them the animals that live in and around the pond. The illustrations are big and bold. This book has double-page spreads shows the animal and how the animal may move. It takes you all through spring and summer at the pond until winter comes.

Response: I really enjoy books by Denise Fleming. She amazes me by making her own illustrations by pouring colored cotton pulp through hand-cut stencils. I really think very young readers, some preschoolers even, may enjoy this book Each page rhymes and keeps the reader interested. When I was young, I would have loved this book because of the bright colors. I also like that the words are not straight across the page. The book reads really fast because there are only two words on each page. This book could teach young children how to read because there are so few words on the page and also about different animals they may not encounter in their life. I love the colors used for the illustrations. I believe this is a book that children could identify with because of the illustrations and the word count on each page.

Teaching Ideas: This book would be good to use in kindergarten classes to get them to read aloud. They would enjoy going on the journey with the frog through each page. Older childrn could create their own book and the journey to explore something. We could also talk about how Fleming makes her paper. This book could tie into the scince curriculum in the study of animals and their habitats.