CONTENT:
Together with Over and Under the Snow (2011) and Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt (2015), Over and Under the Pond (2017) is part of the series of picturebooks written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal. In this picturebook, a child and his mother are crossing a pond on a rowboat, the boy’s question “what is underwater?” opens the picturebook. Animals and plants that live in the pond are presented and explored, making also visible all that lives and happens under the surface of the water. This book gives children the opportunity to understand how in an ecosystem all the elements are interdependent.
WHY USING THIS PICTUREBOOK:
Thanks to this book it is possible to introduce the children to the concept of “ecosystem” stimulating a reflection on the importance of protecting different types of ecosystems and their elements. As in Over and Under the Snow (2011) scientific terms are used in the written text and the illustrations support their comprehension. The author also uses onomatopoeias that contribute to the musicality of the language and promote comprehension. The illustrations expand on the content of the written text providing additional information, such as characteristics of the environments in which animals live, their habits, etc. The illustrations represent also the interconnection between various elements present in the pond, contributing to explaining the concept of ecosystem.
