Among the Pond People

A pond is quieter than a farmyard but no less crowded, and Clara Dillingham Pierson fills this collection with the frogs, turtles, tadpoles, water beetles, and fishes that share it. Each story follows one of these pond dwellers through an episode of its life, from a tadpole’s slow change into a frog to a snapping turtle’s cranky ways, and each carries a little of the real natural history behind the tale. Written for young children to hear read aloud, the stories let the animals talk and think while keeping their true habits intact. Pierson’s touch is warm and patient, and a soft moral usually rises to the surface. It sits comfortably beside the other volumes of her ‘Among the People’ series. Free to read in PDF and EPUB.