A lyrical narration and breathtaking illustrations transport readers to the world of a pond with all its sights, sounds, and pulsing life.

From the life cycle of mosquitoes to the many uses and varieties of pond plants, Kochanoff takes young readers on an entertaining and enlightening tour of life in and around a freshwater pond. Full of detailed illustrations and clear answers to creative questions, Be a Pond Detective is the perfect way to discover the nature mysteries in your own backyard!

Ages: 7 to 10 (This book straddles both age ranges)

Just behind an ordinary house
filled with too little fun,
Ernest D. decides that today will be the day he explores the depths of his pond.

Beyond the pond, he discovers a not-so-ordinary world that will change him forever.

Acclaimed author Nancy Tafuri hides the little duck somewhere on each page—have YOU seen it? This almost-wordless book is both a fun counting game and an exciting hidden-picture hunt for the youngest readers.  

1996 Classic!

One hot summer in a pond, a tadpole grows into a frog.

A child explores the wonders of the natural world in this rhyming, beautiful bright colored picture storybook about the lives of small animals and insects living around a freshwater pond.

🐸Family favorite – 1998 Classic! Great for little kids. 

Three selfish frogs live together on an island in the middle of Rainbow Pond. All day long they bicker: It’s mine! It’s mine! It’s mine! But a bad storm and a big brown toad help them realize that sharing is much more fun. With characteristic clarity, simplicity and exuberance, Leo Lionni makes it possible for kids to see themselves through the antics of others who share our world.

1996 Classic! Great for little kids. 

Lakes and Ponds! With 25 Science Projects for Kids invites kids ages 7 though 10 to investigate the bodies of water that might look calm from the shore but which are teeming with life and activity! Through fun facts and engaging content, readers explore the plants and animals living in lakes and ponds, from fish darting about to dragonfly nymphs gestating in the shallows to algae and aquatic plants converting sunlight into energy through photosynthesis.

Age range: 7 to 10

One quiet pond becomes full of life as a turtle, a frog and other water-loving wildlife come to explore in this beautifully illustrated picture book for toddlers and preschoolers.

A serene pond, filled with birds, frogs, turtles, and other creatures going about their quiet business. Their intrusion stirs the pond into a cacophony of activity, reaching a climactic chaos before slowly settling back to a quiet equilibrium.

In Over and Under the Pond, readers will discover the plants and animals that make up the rich, interconnected ecosystem of a mountain pond. Over the pond, the water is a mirror, reflecting the sky. But under the water is a hidden world of creatures—minnows darting, beavers diving, and tadpoles growing.

🐸Family favorite!

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? 

On a summer night by a small pond, all seems still. But a closer look reveals a world of activity—mayflies dart, beetles dive, frogs spring, skunks shuffle, and owls swoop. As a young girl watches, the circle of life unfolds. Betsy Franco’s rhythmic, cumulative text makes this a lively read-aloud, and rich, luminous paintings by Stefano Vitale capture the bold beauty of nature. Young readers will be inspired to journey into their own backyards and discover the wonder of the living, breathing world around them.

Charming illustrations make this book a perfect gift for budding nature enthusiasts. Spotters chart and stickers inside provide an easy and fun way for kids to keep track of which trees they have seen.

Buddy and his mother are spending a relaxing day at Pete’s Pond. As Mama tells Buddy about the animals, bugs, and plants they see, Buddy sketches them on his drawing pad. Ducks! Whirligig beetles! Lily pads! Buddy is curious about everything, but most of all, he hopes to see a turtle. And he does―but not the kind he expected! This book, illustrated with photographs and cut-paper artwork, is a perfect introduction to environmental science and biology, but will also be useful to all enthusiastic pond goers. A make-a-rock turtle craft activity is included.

Tad is small. In fact, she is the smallest almost-a-frog in the whole, wide pond. That makes it hard for her to do big things like follow her tadsiblings who swim to other parts of the pond when they outgrow the nest.

As her tadbrothers and tadsisters swim up, up, up, they leave poor Tad by her lonesome. That’s until…Big Blub shows up! He’s not only bigger than Tad, but Big Blub isn’t exactly what a tadpole would consider friendly.

Swimming at her own pace, Tad soon learns how to to be bigger than her fears. Benji Davies creates a memorable and timeless tale that proves sometimes the mightiest creature comes in the smallest package.

Explore one of the world’s most diverse—and most threatened—animals. With more than five thousand different frog species on the planet, in every color of the rainbow and a vast number of vivid patterns, no creatures are more fascinating to learn about or look at. Jenkins and Page present a stunning array of these intriguing amphibians and the many amazing adaptations they have made to survive.

One by one, ten turtles splash into the pond. A counting book and fun exploration of animals at the pond, perfect for preschoolers.

Carefully researched and skillfully rendered by nature artist Annika Bernhard are 45 illustrations of aspects of a beaver pond, a meadow pond, a bog pond, and other freshwater habitats. 

🖍️ Coloring Book for Older Kids and Adults!

This guide describes and illustrates, in full color, the plants and animals that live in or near ponds, lakes, streams, and wetlands. It includes surface-dwelling creatures as well as those of open water, the bottom, and the shore and tells how various animals and plants live together in a community.

esigned to complement the curriculum for grades 3–5, our Pond Life Nature Activity Book features a variety of creative activities and games, word searches, crosswords, quizzes, origami, mazes, puzzles and drawing/coloring activities, to encourage interest and engage children in nature and the natural sciences.

Provides young readers with detailed illustrations that capture the various microscopic lives going on in a single drop of pond water, including that of spirogyra, paramecia, and other protozoa.

1996 Classic!

The book not only explores the fascinating world of the creatures within ponds and their interactions, but also explains the many ways in which ponds are important in human affairs. Ponds are being lost around the world, but they are a key part of a system that maintains our climate. In the face of climate change, it has never been more important to understand the ecology of ponds.

Provides identification and other information about creatures that are commonly found in the shallows of freshwater areas and are large enough to be seen with the naked eye.

🐸Backwoods Mama favorite!