Pondering
A Story in Cinquains
Contributors
By Paul Paolilli
Illustrated by Dao Thuy Linh
Buy from Other Retailers:
- On Sale
- May 12, 2026
- Page Count
- 32 pages
- Publisher
- WorthyKids
- ISBN-13
- 9781546008668
In this glorious celebration of nature, three girls walk an old trail in search of a hidden pond, marveling at treasures they discover along the way—darting dragonflies, croaking bullfrogs, fluttering sycamore leaves, and more. Written in a unique poetic form called American cinquain, the story seamlessly weaves together an invitation to readers to immerse themselves in nature, while also bringing attention to this endangered ecosystem. The info-packed pages at the end of the book include an overview of the pond ecosystem and the current threat to it, as well as an exploration of the cinquain form.
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"A story in verse about three friends visiting a pond. Each page has a cinquain that beautifully describes the narrative action. With gorgeous figurative language and perfectly chosen vocabulary, the story weaves around the ecosystem of the pond, highlighting all the plants and animals there. Glowing artwork matches and amplifies the ideas of the text with its natural palette of mixed media, giving readers even more to contemplate as they page through. An excellent mentor text for writing poetry, this is equally suited for a science unit on habitats or ponds. The conciseness of the verse makes it easily accessible to young readers while providing an amazing lesson of word choice to older ones. This is a truly lovely book is to be savored repeatedly, and is a must for any picture book collection."School Library Journal, starred review
