Turtle Pond

PreS-Gr 2—Sunny green watercolor scenes and spare poetry observe the daily doings of turtles large and small in their indoor pond home. A child and his family are shown visiting the turtles as the verse muses on their mysterious ways: "Piled high—/one, two, three, four, five!/They climb on each other./Why do they do that?/A stack of turtles at turtle pond." The turtles sleep, eat, swim, chase fish, and cling to the rocks as the seasons pass. The illustrations, done in graphite pencil and watercolor, reveal more and more of the setting as the narrative progresses. As autumn comes and night draws near, readers see the family outside a lighted, domed building facing a city skyline—the pond is located indoors in a public garden. The concluding author's note explains a bit of turtle history and identifies the turtles in this pond as Red-eared Sliders, widely popular as pets. The attractive artwork showing the testudines from a number of arresting angles, and the lyrical observations read aloud well. Children are not offered much fact or explanation but rather a pleasant time in the company of turtles.