Age 5-7 | 32 pages | 250 x 250mm | Publication May 2017 | Hardback ISBN 9781912050703 | Paperback ISBN 9781912213504
The Pond is a touching picture book about a young boy, and his family, overcoming the loss of his father. This colourful, emotional book is filled with natural imagery, and will teach children not only about death and loss, but the importance of the natural world. From Nicola Davies and Cathy Fisher, the duo behind the beautiful children’s book Perfect.
Nicola Davies is an award-winning author, whose many books for children include The Promise (Green Earth Book Award 2015, Greenaway Shortlist 2015), Tiny (AAAS Subaru Prize 2015), A First Book of Nature, Whale Boy (Blue Peter Award Shortlist 2014), and the Heroes of the Wild Series (Portsmouth Book Prize 2014). She graduated in zoology, studied whales and bats and then worked for the BBC Natural History Unit. Underlying all Nicola’s writing is the belief that a relationship with nature is essential to every human being, and that now, more than ever, we need to renew that relationship.
Nicola’s children’s books from Graffeg include Perfect, The Word Bird, Animal Surprises, Into the Blue and the Shadows and Light series.
Cathy Fisher grew up with eight brothers and sisters, playing in the fields overlooking Bath. She has been a teacher and practising artist all her life, living and working in the Seychelles and Australia for many years. Art is Cathy’s first language. As a child she scribbled on the walls of her bedroom and ever since has felt a sense of urgency to paint and draw stories and feelings which she believes need to be heard and expressed. Perfect was Cathy’s first published book, followed by The Pond.
The Pond was chosen as one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2017, nominated for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 and chosen as one of CLPE’s favourite reads of 2017.
Reviews:
‘A touching picture book about a young boy overcoming the loss of his father. This colourful, emotional book is filled with natural imagery, drawn by Cathy Fisher, and will teach children not only about death and loss, but the importance of the natural world.’ Wales Arts Review, Best of 2017, Welsh Books for Young People
‘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. […] 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.’ Kirkus Reviews, 15 August 2017 edition
‘Cathy Fisher’s rich illustrations add depth to the emotional impact of the text which explores the way in which we can use places, objects and acts of creation to help us to remember those we have loved and lost. The book also reveals the way in which connecting with nature can be a healing process, for many different reasons.’ Katie Rosa Myles, CLPE
‘A magical story about love and loss, and how opening our eyes to the wonders of the natural world can help to bring us together and heal the most broken of hearts.’ Gill Lewis, Children’s Author
‘This book pulls at the heart, delights the eye. The pond itself glows like a jewel, Nicola Davies writes with a poetic beauty and Cathy Fisher shows a wonderful understanding of working text and pictures together to tell a tale.’ Jackie Morris, Author and Illustrator
‘Thoughtful and perceptive, this really gives a positive message.’ Parents in Touch
‘A beautiful heart-breaking examination of family bereavement. […] Fisher’s vivid mixed-media images, evoking the contrasts between black-brown mud, turquoise water and wriggling tadpoles, prompt both deep sadness and a sense of hope.’ Imogen Russell Williams, Children’s Books Critic at The Guardian
‘Nicola Davies’ tale is heartbreaking and unafraid of tackling the real pain involved in losing someone you love, but it strikes an ultimately hopeful tone. Complemented by Cathy Fisher’s astonishingly evocative, swirling and exquisite illustrations, The Pond is a raw and emotional read but an important one, using nature to symbolise the circle of life in a thoughtful, considered and beautiful way.’ BookTrust
‘How to deal with death and grief? This is the theme of Nicola Davies’ latest book. There is nothing mawkish or sentimental. The young narrator does not hide the anger that grief can bring, both in young and old. The death of the father leaves a terrible hole in the family, symbolised by the muddy messy hole in the garden where the pond should have been. Then a duck arrives – the turning of the world and the seasons, the life to be found as the pond is resurrected allows the family to move on with their good memories; the pond had been their father’s idea.
While the link between life, death and the natural world is a common theme, there is freshness brought to it by Davies’ prose. It is a simple story, told clearly and elegantly. Enriching and adding both visual and emotional depth to a familiar story are Cathy Fisher’s illustrations. Filling each double page spread with rich, saturated colours she captures both the uncompromising desolation of the uncared for hole in the garden, the teeming life of the pond, the excitement of the discoveries to be made – and the perfection of the water lily flower. It too will die – but by then a new pond will have been created. This is a beautiful book in more senses than one and deserves to have a prominent place on any bookshelf.’ Ferelith Hordon, Books for Keeps
‘The tender and respectful stroy of a loving family healing after a traumatic loss and the potency of the natural world is both sensitive and poetic. The visuals and text complement each other perfectly. The stages, and the labour, of bereavement are artfully and respectfully depicted here, and the child narrator’s depth of feeling as they process their loss is given its due. There are no magic fixes, but there is magic to be found in the wild and in family life. A deep and vibrant text, one worth revisiting.’ Inis Reading Guide 2017-18, Children’s Books Ireland
‘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, School Library Journal