Runaway pond /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Based on a true story, this tribute to everyday heroism doubles as a lyrical primer on how landscapes evolve.

Long Pond--clear, reflective, and bent in the middle like a crooked finger--has been a source of joy and nourishment to a Vermont village for many years. But when a sudden late-summer storm causes the pond to swell and burst its banks, endangering everyone in its path, only one person is fast enough to warn the villagers downstream. Spencer Chamberlain, the long-legged winner of countless foot races, sprints off to cries of "Run, Chamberlain, run!" All survive, thanks to his efforts. But after the storm the glassy pond is gone, leaving the village, and future generations, with something altogether different--and every bit as nourishing. In a gentle tall tale inspired by true events that are explored in the book's afterword, Vermont author Nancy Price Graff reveals the constantly evolving landscapes all around us, while Bagram Ibatoulline's glorious paintings speak to the beauty and inevitability of change.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

This piece of Americana commemorates a rural Vermont community built around a clear pond that is "long and narrow and bent in the middle, like a crooked finger." Expertly drafted Rockwellian spreads by Ibatoulline (The Hawk of the Castle) display the beauty of the pond, and the log cabins built around it, through every season. An annual footrace during Fourth of July celebrations is always won by a young villager named Spencer Chamberlain. When a torrential summer rain one year threatens the dam at the pond's end and the villagers that live below it, Chamberlain outruns the resulting flood for five miles, warning villagers along the way to move to higher ground. No lives are lost, but the pond drains away; in its place, a marsh grows. Graff (Taking Wing) concludes the tale by cataloging its beauties, just as captivating as the pond's, including "marsh marigolds as brilliant as bars of gold." The story foregrounds both Chamberlain's achievement and the changes wrought by a larger environmental transformation, leading to new generations finding new wonders following a period of loss and change. Most characters read as white. A concluding message supplies the story's real-life history. Ages 4--8. (Oct.)

Booklist Review

Long ago in a hilly, forested region, a village grew up around a large pond. Local families enjoyed its clear water that reflected the trees and animals surrounding it. They celebrated the Fourth of July with fiddle playing, dancing, bobbing for apples, and a foot race. And every year, a tall, strong fellow named Spencer Chamberlain won the race. Once, after days of rain, the pond overflowed its banks, and a stream began to destroy the dam. The residents called on Chamberlain to warn their downstream neighbors about the coming flood. He ran as never before and succeeded. After the pond had drained away, a marsh grew in its place, and Chamberlain became the village hero. The story celebrates a bygone era, while making the point that although the pond was gone, a marsh, full of life, took its place. Graff's appended note explains that events in Vermont in 1810 inspired her story, and she separates facts from fiction. Ibatoulline gives his richly detailed, beautifully composed paintings a rustic American setting. An appealing, history-based picture book.

Kirkus Book Review

When a beloved pond experiences a catastrophic flood, it's up to speedy Spencer Chamberlain to alert residents downstream of the coming danger. Steeped in historical detail, Ibatoulline's elegant, photorealistic watercolors paint rich portraits of all four seasons of pond and people in a 19th-century Vermont village. Children fish, cows graze, and, on July 4 each year, a footrace is a highlight of the festivities. "Big and strong" Chamberlain wins every year, but when the village is hit with epic rains one summer, he finds himself facing a new--and far more critical--race as he attempts to outpace the torrential waters of the flooded Long Pond to warn his neighbors. Thanks to him, all survive except for the pond itself, which drains but recovers as a thriving marsh. There's a gentle wholesomeness here; this is the kind of story that will appeal to kids who long to try on bonnets and churn butter, yet it's marred by verbosity and an odd pacing that feels laggy in a book about a quickly developing disaster. It's not clear what story the author is attempting to tell--is this a Paul Bunyan--like folktale? If so, Chamberlain never feels fleshed out enough to qualify. If the pond is the focus, then failing to mention that the disaster is a result of human actions, as noted in the backmatter, seems like an oversight. All characters present white. Beautiful, but this pond is a little shallow. (Picture book. 5-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Nancy Price Graff is the author of seven previous books for children and adults, including In the Hush of the Evening and Taking Wing , and her work has been nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award. A graduate of Middlebury College, Nancy Price Graff lives in Montpelier, Vermont.

Bagram Ibatoulline has illustrated many acclaimed books for children, including The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman; On the Blue Comet by Rosemary Wells; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Great Joy , both by Kate DiCamillo; and The Serpent Came to Gloucester by M. T. Anderson. Bagram Ibatoulline lives in Chichester, New York.