Six silent turtles sit on a log down at the pond. “Green frogs leap. / Beetles creep. / Finches perch. / Herons lurch. / Flicker! Flutter! / Scamper! / Scoot! On / every / rock / and / leaf / and / root!” But the six turtles continue to sit silent as stones. As various land and water creatures scurry and hurry, swing and zing around them, the turtles remain still as stones, until strong winds disturb the calm, startling the turtles, which suddenly speed away. The paper collages mirror the nature setting with colorful backgrounds in blue and green hues that reflect the lush atmosphere. Verbs and actions in large typeface bounce off the pages and pair smoothly with the lilt of the rhymes. Two pages of author’s notes offer nature facts in journal style and a page suggests sources for printing textures, e.g. broccoli, carrots and bubble wrap. Like a paper diorama, this artistic, wide-angle view of pond life with sound effects is as rousing as the one from Falwell’s tree house overlooking Frog Song Pond must be. (Photo with author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)
