Review by Booklist Review
Dad promises his two boys that when they build a pond in their tiny garden, it will be amazing. Wait until you see the water lilies! Sadly, Dad never got his pond filled with tadpoles and dragonflies, because he died. Told in the first person, the older son decides to try to finish the pond his dad had started, but it is just a muddy hole. In spring, Mom decides to create a real pool, complete with rock walls and a plastic-lined bottom. The pond burgeons with life, and the water lilies' gorgeous pink flowers open. The restorative features of the completed pond's flourishing life help the grieving family move on. The artwork, in pastel crayon and mixed-media, is glorious. Every double-page spread teems with vivid natural imagery. The swirling grays and scribbled browns of the boy's grief and the brilliant blues and greens of the pond illustrate the healing power of the natural world and are the perfect complement to author and zoologist Davies' poetic text about a difficult subject.--Gepson, Lolly Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-The first thing one notices about this picture book is the black pages, sometimes appearing as solid backgrounds, at other points layered with textured, mixed media compositions. A relatively rare choice in children's books, but one that supports the despondency and rage a boy experiences when his dad dies. Building a pond had been the father's idea. He and his younger son-the narrator-had envisioned tadpoles and dragonflies; his older son and wife were less enthusiastic. Davies's eloquent narrative rings true to the rhythms of grief. First a false sense of recovery deflates: spotting a duck, the protagonist attempts to fill the empty pond, but the wall breaks and floods the kitchen. The disaster brings out the worst in everyone. Silhouettes scream through splotchy glass; the child curls up in a cocoon of scrawled lines. Fisher's wondrous scenes carry the emotional weight of each stage. Ultimately, a dazzling, rebuilt surprise teems with bubbles, tadpole eggs, and floating green life forms. Healing has taken a firmer hold, and loving memories are shared in a family wall collage. The boy's yearning for connection is fulfilled in the blossoming water lily described by his father, purchased by his brother. The family's ethnic origins and the cause of death are unspecified: "He died and left a muddy, messy hole that filled our garden." These decisions are inclusive for purposes of bibliotherapy, although the skillful storytelling reaches well beyond a niche audience. -VERDICT The book is extraordinary in its beauty and honesty-and therefore in its degree of comfort. Best shared one-on-one with a caring adult.-Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Dad plans a pond in the backyard and speaks of all the wonderful things that it will hold. But it is a promise left unfulfilled.When Dad dies, the uncompleted pond becomes a large part of the family's grieving. The young narrator wants to see the pond completed, but for now they all see only "the muddy, messy hole that filled our hearts." When the narrator fills the hole with water it makes the mess worse. Mother and older brother let out their anger, and the child retreats, screaming at Dad for dying. The family goes through the motions of their lives, and eventually the rebuilding of the pond brings them together. Then there is vegetation, insects, tadpoles, and dragonflies, just as Dad had envisioned, and they celebrate each sign of life. In time they are able to move on and start anew. Davies avoids sentimentality and pity in expressing the young narrator's raw and painful emotions, as the survivors experience all the stages of grief, separately and together. Fisher's dark-toned illustrations place the family deeply in shadow, encased in their pain. Only the pond has a degree of light, growing a bit stronger as time passes. The family emerges from the shadows emotionally, and finally, the image is bathed in misty light as they leave. Dad is white, and Mum appears to be Asian. Heart-wrenching, powerful, and beautifully realized. (Picture book. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
