A Different Pond


Title- A Different pond 
Author/Retold- Bao Phi
Illustrator- Thi Bui
Genre- multicultural book
Grade level- 2nd-4th grade
Awards- Caldecott Honor

The story begins with an father waking up his youngest son early in the morning. They make sandwiches and go to the car and head to the tackle shop. The father talks to the son and the son remembers that his friends that his fathers accent makes him sound like a thick, dirty river. The son doesn’t think so. When they get to the tackle shop notices the father is there early and the father says I have second job. They get to the pond and it is cold. The son remembers the people he has met there. He remembers the man that talks like dad and the black man with the colorful lure collection. The son starts to build the fire as the father gets the fishing line ready. They sit down and they start to eat the sandwiches they packed as the bobber is in the water. The father talks about the pond he used to fish at in Vietnam with his brother. His father told his son about the war him and his brother both fought in and one day his brother didn’t come home. The bopper dips in the water and the father yanks on the poll and there is a fish. More fish start getting caught and when they have caught enough for the day, they pack up and go home. They head home and his father gets ready for work and his mother takes the fish and cleans then and she then goes to work. The son, father, and mother were proud of their boy for helping. That night when everyone is home, they will eat the fish and when the son sleeps after the meal, he dreams of far away ponds.

This is an amazing book about Asian culture. This book is another great addition to help introduce Asian cultures to your classroom. I would use this book as a thought producer. I would read it in front of the class and ask about how this story relate to their life or if they have experienced any type of similarities. 


 

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