Landing in a New Pond

After relocating, a child befriends a flock of ducks.
Moving somewhere new means making new pals—but “I’ve already made forty-one friends,” our young narrator points out. While visiting a nearby park with Mama and little sister Madeleine, the protagonist bonds with a group of ducks: “Their quacks are hellos. Their waddles are waves. Their nibbles are noisy thank-yous.” The child brings the ducks healthy snacks and pays special attention to Buttercup (who’s lost many feathers) and Hoppity, who has an injured foot. Doehring’s immersive illustrations, often spilling across spreads, show a park full of colors that change with the seasons. All the while, the child’s confidence and attachment to these new friends strengthen. Madeleine tries to help but “is too little to do it right.” Mama warns, “Soon, the ducks will move, like we did.” Even after the child makes them a feast of all their favorite treats, the flock disappears one snowy morning, heading south for the winter. “Moving is hard,” says Mama. “For ducks, for kids, even for grown-ups.” But the narrator finds a willing playmate in Madeleine as Ramel and Doehring bring the narrative to a conclusion imbued with themes of resilience and friendship among those in one’s own flock. Backmatter provides information on the story’s inspiration, as well as information on what ducks can and can’t eat. Human characters are beige-skinned.
A sweet tale about seeking out community where you least expect it.
—Kirkus Reviews

Marisa Ramel is the author of the award-winning memoir for adults, The Goodbye Diaries. The mother-daughter memoir was praised as “beautiful, wise, tender and true” by Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, and was named one of the “17 Books Every Girl Should Read Before She’s 17” by Seventeen magazine. Marisa has written for Time, Good Morning America, Glamour, PopSugar, and more. Marisa, her husband, and their two children moved from Brooklyn, NY, to Boulder, CO, where they’ve befriended numerous ducks and where Marisa is now a librarian. This is her first picture book.

Jennifer Doehring is the author and illustrator of The Wanderer’s Journal series, a group of illustrated guided hiking journals for adults, and an illustrator of children’s picture books. She received her fine-art degree from the University of California, Irvine, and owns art studio Palette Passions, where she teaches painting and drawing to intermediate and advanced students. In her spare time, Jennifer loves to backcountry camp and gathers most of her creative inspiration from nature. She lives in Southern California with her husband and their English bulldog, Snickers.

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