Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems

by Beckie Prange (Illustrator), Joyce Sidman

Overview

From spring’s first thaw to autumn’s chill, the world of the pond is a dramatic place. Though seemingly quiet, ponds are teeming with life and full of surprises. Their denizens—from peepers to painted turtles, duckweed to diving beetles—lead secret and fascinating lives. A unique blend of whimsy, science, poetry, and hand-colored woodcuts, this Caldecott Honor-winning collection invites us to take a closer look at our hidden ponds and wetlands. Here is a celebration of their beauty and their mystery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780618135479
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	04/04/2005
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	181,811
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 11.50(h) x 0.39(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Beckie Prange lives in Ely, Minnesota. Her first book received a Caldecott Honor. www.beckieprange.com

Newbery Honor winner Joyce Sidman is simply one of the best poets writing for children today. Her accolades include a Lee Bennet Hopkins Award, winner of the Cybil Award, Texas Bluebonnet Master List, two Caldecott Honors, winner of the Claudia Lewis Award, and many stars and notables and best of lists. For her award-winning body of work, she recently won the Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. She lives in Wayzata, Minnesota

. Visit www.joycesidman.com

Editorial Reviews

In this strikingly illustrated collection, science facts combine with vivid poems about pond life through the seasons." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review

"With its unique combination of fact and fancy, this book is bound to delight pint-sized scientists and environmentalists—and language lovers, too." Publishers Weekly, Starred

"An organic union of poetry and science, this book encourages readers to ponder the minutiae and magnificent life of the natural world." School Library Journal, Starred

"Sidman and Prange go beyond accuracy and clarity; with a humor born of skillful observation and light and color worthy of the Impressionists, they capture the essence of this environment in all its fascinating particularity." Horn Book

From the Publisher

This remarkable collection of Sidman's (The World According to Dog) poems about the flora and fauna found in wetland areas also occasions the book debut for naturalist and printmaker Prange, whose artwork recalls the grace and narrative finesse of Mary Azarian. The poems and hand-colored woodcuts combine whimsy with naturalistic accuracy, and crystal-clear side-bars filled with enough factual oddities to intrigue young readers provide ideal accompaniment. For instance, two almost-identical water bugs-the water boatman and the backswimmer-trade stanzas in the title poem as if they were yeomen on a 19th-century schooner: "Yo, ho, ho,/ the pond winds blow/ and upside down is the way to go." Nonetheless, the rhythmic ballad informs readers about the differences and similarities between the two insects without sounding the least bit didactic. "In the Depths of the Summer Pond" neatly creates a "House That Jack Built" explanation of the underwater food chain. Each denizen of the pond is closely observed in both art and text, which brim with intriguing characterizations and vivid imagery. Separated into four "movements," "The Season's Campaign" chronicles the cattails in springtime, which "burst forth,/ crisp green squads/ bristling with spears," while in summer, their "brown velvet plumes/ bob jauntily." Prange's illustration features a sky tinted with subtle shades of blue and lavender with a "red-winged general" (aka blackbird) circling the fall cattails whose "courage/ clumps and fluffs/ like bursting pillows." With its unique combination of fact and fancy, this book is bound to delight pint-size scientists and environmentalists-and language lovers, too. Ages 5-10. (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 5-Seasons set the stage for this celebration of the diverse life of ponds. The book begins with the poem, "Listen for Me," in which spring peepers wake from their winter hibernation and sing out, "Listen for me on a spring night,/on a wet night,/on a rainy night./-Listen for me tonight, tonight,/and I'll sing you to sleep." The melodic verse continues through summer with a cumulative poem that highlights the food chain of a pond, cattails in all seasons, and late fall when a painted turtle settles into the mud. Sidman employs several poetic forms, such as haiku and rhymed and unrhymed verse, and varied line structure, and her arrangement of the 11 poems is natural and exact. Each one is accompanied by a paragraph that provides scientific information about a specific creature, plant, or aspect of pond life. Prange's woodcuts are a natural accompaniment to these poetic compositions. The dark lines naturally contrast against watercolor hues that reflect the changing seasons. Beginning with subtle pastel shades of spring, tones gradually deepen through the lush colors of midsummer and conclude with subdued earthy browns and violet sunsets of early winter. Perspectives in illustrations shift from one poem to another, providing a unique depiction of the life below the water, on shore level, and in the surrounding reeds and trees. An organic union of poetry and science, this book encourages readers to ponder the minutiae and magnificent life of the natural world.-Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

The stately rhythms of Sidman's 11 rhymed or free verse poems find echoes in Prange's strongly modeled, richly colored woodcut scenes. Both naturalistically portray a pond's flora and fauna from Spring Peepers, herons and cattails, to the titular insect (singing a Gilbert and Sullivan-esque duet with a closely related Backswimmer), and a Painted Turtle settling "Into the Mud" for the winter: "Sun / slants low, / chill seeps into black / water. No more days of bugs / and basking." Sidman adds nature notes opposite each poem, Prange closes with a wordless glimpse of a snow-covered landscape and readers will come away feeling as if they, too, have been pond dwellers for a season. Matching Kurt Cyrus's Oddhopper Opera: A Bug's Garden of Verses (2001) for that up-close feel, this also makes an engrossing companion for Michael Elsohn Ross's Pond Watching with Ann Morgan (2000), illus by Wendy Smith. (glossary) (Poetry. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews