Poetry Book Review- Curriculum Connection: Science

Sidman, J. (2005). Song of the Water Boatman: And other pond poems. Illustrated by Beckie Prange. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Teeming with life, this pond poetry collection brings a child-like fascination to an ecosystem many children are familiar with. Each poem focuses on one or two organisms that live in and thrive off of the pond like the Great Diving Beetle, duckweed, cattails and the book’s namesake. A stout paragraph accompanies each poem, providing facts, and often clarifying the poem itself. The symbiosis of the poem and paragraph create a seamless experience for the casual, reluctant or confident reader.

Prange’s woodcut illustrations both delightfully enhance the poems, as well as provide accurate depictions of the pond animals and surroundings. This book is a clear choice when providing children with high-quality science literature. As a stand-alone enjoyment or a springboard into further study, Sidman invites us all to take a closer peek at a frequent, yet uncommon gift of nature.