![]() They wait for fish to bite and Bao’s father speaks of fishing by a pond like the one they sit by now with his brother, long passed. ![]() A close-up of Bao’s expression creates empathy with the reader: one experiences the hollow feeling of otherness generated by his classmate’s comment, underscored by the lonely predawn street, and then the uplifting warmth of Bao’s love for his father’s voice.Īs his father sets up to fish, Bao carefully assembles twigs and rocks to make a fire. To Bao, his English sounds like “gentle rain”. While driving to the bait store, Bao remembers how a kid at school said his dad’s accented English sounds like “a thick, dirty river”. The book is full of rich glimpses into Bao’s interior life. Bui’s sumi ink brushwork and digital coloring capture the inky quality of the sky before sunrise, the chill of late autumn, and the quiet, emotional moments in between. ![]() ![]() A Different Pond, written by celebrated poet/author Bao Phi and illustrated by graphic memoirist Thi Bui, has received excellent reviews and multiple awards, including the 2018 Caldecott Honor and the APALA Picture Book Award.Ī Different Pond follows Bao, a Vietnamese American boy, on a hushed early morning fishing trip with his father. ![]()
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