The Secret Pool

by Kimberley Ridley, Rebekah Raye (Illustrator)

Overview

*John Burroughs Association Riverby Award*

*Maine Lupine Award*

*Skipping Stones Honor Book*

You might walk right by a vernal pool and not notice it. Often mistaken for mere puddles in the woods, vernal pools are the source of life for many interesting creatures.

If you look carefully, you can find them and be amazed! These secret pools form every year when low places on the forest floor fill up with rain and melted snow. They soon become home to hatching wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and fairy shrimp. Even in late summer and fall, when many vernal pools have shrunk to mud holes, creatures such as turtles and snakes rely on them for shelter and food. The Secret Pool introduces young readers to the wonders right underfoot as the voice of a vernal pool shares its secrets through the seasons, and sidebars provide fun facts on its inhabitants and the crucial role these small, often overlooked wetlands play in maintaining a healthy environment.

• This edition includes new backmatter features about wetland habitats and animals for classroom use and reader interest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884484943
Publisher:	Tilbury House Publishers
Publication date:	03/15/2016
Series:	Tilbury House Nature Book Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	36
Sales rank:	399,112
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	1040L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Science writer Kimberly Ridley is an award-winning author of nonfiction books for children. Her joy is sharing her love of nature and writing with children through her books and school visits. Kimberly’s picture books, The Secret Pool (Kirkus starred review) and The Secret Bay, have received honors including Riverby Awards from the John Burroughs Association for “outstanding natural history books for young people.” Her newest book is THe Secret Stream A former magazine editor, Kimberly has written for publications including The Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, and Downeast Magazine. She holds an MS in Science Journalism.

Rebekah Raye is an artist beloved for her bird and animal paintings and sculpture, derived from her affinity with the natural world around her studio in East Blue Hill, Maine. In Rebekah’s words, “My early interest in animals of all kinds continues to be the focus of my painting and sculpture. Our pet chickens, geese, and cats—as well as the wild fox, bobcat, crows, and deer—are my inspiration. The more I learn about the animals I paint, the more I understand how we are all related.” Rebekah’s award-winning children’s books include The Very Best Bed, Bear-ly There, The Secret Pool, and Swimming Home, all published by Tilbury House.

What People are Saying About This

Joyce Sidman

With poetic text and informative sidebars, this beautiful book delightfully captures the drama and mystery of vernal pools. Dive in and get lost in this magical world. --Joyce Sidman, Newbery Honor winning children's author and winner of the 2013 NCTE Award for Excellence in Children's Poetry

Cheryl Charles

It reads with the delight and dangers of a fairy tale, but it's grounded in science. --Holly Meade, illustrator of the Caldecott Honor winning Hush! A Thai Lullaby and other books
The Secret Pool is enchanting! I encourage parents, grandparents, and friends of children everywhere to read the book with a young one and then open the door to see if you can find a vernal pool. If you don't live in a region where vernal pools can be found, look for something else in nature that changes through the seasons and serves as a home for wildlife. --Cheryl Charles, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Children & Nature Network

Holly Meade

It reads with the delight and dangers of a fairy tale, but it's grounded in science. --Holly Meade, illustrator of the Caldecott Honor—winning Hush!
A Thai Lullaby and other books

Editorial Reviews

With poetic text, fact-filled sidebars, and lively illustrations, this book informs readers about the intriguing world of vernal pools, the temporary habits that form in forests each summer. From fairy shrimp to spotted salamanders, readers will learn about the many creatures and systems that rely on these seasonal habitats. Ages 7-11.

Skipping Stones

12/01/2013
Gr 3–4—The secret pool is a vernal pond, also known as an ephemeral pool, for its temporary existence as a small, forest wetland habitat. This pond is personified and describes the myriad life it supports in first-person, vibrant, rhyming verse. The verse is amplified by narrative text detailing the lives and life cycles supported by this small woodland pond. The exuberant, earthy illustrations seem to spill off the page as they portray a habitat brimming with life in every season. They compel readers to stop, look, and then perhaps count the wood frogs or fairy shrimp (both indicator species of these ponds) or wonder at the reflection of such predators as an upside-down owl. Even the two-page glossary is illustrated with a winter forestscape. Unique and original, this informative book will captivate and inform readers and browsers alike.—Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA

School Library Journal

★ 2013-09-15
This surprisingly engaging look at a habitat not often covered in science curricula and popular nonfiction series strikes a harmonious balance of conversational language, factual text and informative illustrations. On the full-bleed spread preceding the first page, Raye paints a watery woodland scene, in a multitude of greens and browns, with a population of creatures that depend upon the vernal pool for survival. Children will be amazed at how vital this place is for owls, rabbits, ducks, raccoons, robins, turtles, toads, tadpoles, snakes, dragonflies, deer, skunks, squirrels, frogs and salamanders. The vernal pool speaks from the beginning, "A shimmer. A twinkling. Do you have any inkling of what I am?…you might mistake me for a puddle--which I most certainly am not!" Each spread features captivating narrative that explains this "watery jewel" on a child's level on one side and on the other provides more scientific information in a smaller font. Topics covered include the definition of a vernal pool and highlights about the various animals that begin or spend their entire lives in this relatively small biome. The book proceeds from the earliest days of spring through an entire year, dictating the order in which creatures are introduced. Readers will be amazed to learn that wood frogs can freeze into "frogsicles" during winter only to thaw out in the spring and that "fairy shrimp eggs can last up to fifteen years before hatching!" Share with budding naturalists or use as an excellent guide for a woodland walk when the first rains of spring awaken this diverse and fascinating ecosystem. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews