Fourteen-year-old Joey spends his childhood visiting a beautiful back-country pond in Virginia. His humorous and heart-warming adventures in and around the pond, with the faithful dog Charley at his side, broaden his understanding of his place in the world and awaken in him a protective instinct towards all nature. In an era of climate-change debate and animal rights movements, The Pond delivers an important message to readers of all ages, at the same time never failing to delight.

Combining personal reminiscence with reflections on the history of the place over the years and through the seasons, for the first time this collection brings together writers' impressions of the Pond.

Take a trip to a pond. See fish, cattails, dragonflies, turtles, and other interesting plants and animals that live there. Take a ride in the water on a canoe. You never know what you’ll find at a pond! This informational text, nonfiction Beginning-to-Read book contains high-frequency words and content vocabulary. This book can be paired with What's in the Pond, Dear Dragon?, its twin text fiction counterpart. Reading reinforcement pages include a word list and activities to strengthen early literacy skills, such as understanding the craft and structure of informational text, key vocabulary words, foundation skills, close reading, and fluency. Aligns with English Language Arts Standards for Grades K-3.

Poems and illustrations celebrate a day at the pond.

“A loving portrayal of a never-forgotten connection with the natural world.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “It’s a powerful vision of making one’s own wild place, with no special equipment or expenditure required.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review The joy of the seasons, the wonder of discovery, and the appreciation and respect for the natural world is at the heart of this book, drawn from the childhood of award-winning illustrator Jim LaMarche. When Matt is out for a late winter hike he sees a trickle of water in the old deserted and junk filled dirt pit at the edge of his neighborhood. With quiet appreciation, Matt can imagine the pond that must once have been there, shining in the early spring light, freezing in the winter for skating and the perfect place for swimming in the summer. Can Matt’s discovery transform a forgotten pond to its natural wonder? With his idea of making the pond whole again, Matt rallies his friends, Katie and Pablo, and together they work through the spring, clearing debris, moving rocks to hold the water, and looking for leaks. But would there be enough water to fill the pond? Can they bring the pond back?

As a muskrat feeds on cattails, a mother duck uses these plants as a safe place to hide her eggs. As newly-hatched tadpoles nibble on algae, dragonfly nymphs go hunting for tadpoles! And as frogs sit on lily pads to stay safe from big fish that want to eat them, small fish swim under the lily pads to hide from birds that are hunting at the pond. Step by step, readers will explore a pond habitat and discover how all the living things form an ecosystem and rely on each other for survival.