A funny new fable about artistic creation and chasing fame, imagined by award-winning author Caroline Adderson, and inspired by one of Japan’s most famous haikus, “The Old Pond.”
Bashō, a 17th-century poet on an evening walk, stops to rest next to a murky old pond. Here, readers may expect he will encounter the frog that inspired his renowned poem:
Old pond—
Frog jumps in
Splash!
But before the frog came the mosquito, who smells blood: “My life?” it whines, “It could fill a book of poetry!” And before the mosquito came the lily, who perfumes the air, hoping to be immortalized in a poem. And before the lily came the carp, who flutters its tail in the poet’s face.
In a twist that would have delighted Bashō, a Zen Buddhist, the fame-seeking creatures cause only their own suffering. Instead, the inspiration for Bashō’s poem comes from a frog that only wants a morning swim. Splash!
Illustrator Lauren Tamaki, winner of the Sibert Medal, paints a memorable cast of characters with great wit and empathy. Her swirling inks bridge the story’s traditional setting and its lightly modern lesson about fame, inspiration, and art.
Includes end matter with information about Bashō and haiku.
Key Text Features
biographical information
biographical note
dialogue
further information
historical context
historical note
illustrations
informational note
literary references
poems
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
A funny new fable about artistic creation and chasing fame, imagined by award-winning author Caroline Adderson, and inspired by one of Japan’s most famous haikus, “The Old Pond.”
Bashō, a 17th-century poet on an evening walk, stops to rest next to a murky old pond. Here, readers may expect he will encounter the frog that inspired his renowned poem:
Old pond—
Frog jumps in
Splash!
But before the frog came the mosquito, who smells blood: “My life?” it whines, “It could fill a book of poetry!” And before the mosquito came the lily, who perfumes the air, hoping to be immortalized in a poem. And before the lily came the carp, who flutters its tail in the poet’s face.
In a twist that would have delighted Bashō, a Zen Buddhist, the fame-seeking creatures cause only their own suffering. Instead, the inspiration for Bashō’s poem comes from a frog that only wants a morning swim. Splash!
Illustrator Lauren Tamaki, winner of the Sibert Medal, paints a memorable cast of characters with great wit and empathy. Her swirling inks bridge the story’s traditional setting and its lightly modern lesson about fame, inspiration, and art.
Includes end matter with information about Bashō and haiku.
Key Text Features
biographical information
biographical note
dialogue
further information
historical context
historical note
illustrations
informational note
literary references
poems
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Oct 7, 2025 |
| Specifications | 36 pages | 10.25 in x 8.5 in |
| Written By |
CAROLINE ADDERSON is an author of books for young readers and adults. Her picture books include Norman, Speak! (illustrated by Qin Leng) and the Pierre & Paul series (illustrated by Alice Carter). Early chapter books include the Jasper John Dooley and Izzy series, as well as Babble! And How Punctuation Saved It (illustrated by Roman Muradov). Caroline has won the Sheila Egoff Award, the Chocolate Lily Book Award and the Diamond Willow Award, among many other honors. She lives in Vancouver, B.C. |
| Illustrated by |
LAUREN TAMAKI is a designer and award-winning illustrator whose clients include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Nickelodeon and Disney. Her book with Elizabeth Partridge, Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration received a Sibert Informational Book Medal. Lauren is a proud alumna of Alberta College of Art + Design and splits her time between New York City and Toronto, Ontario. |
| Written By |
|
CAROLINE ADDERSON is an author of books for young readers and adults. Her picture books include Norman, Speak! (illustrated by Qin Leng) and the Pierre & Paul series (illustrated by Alice Carter). Early chapter books include the Jasper John Dooley and Izzy series, as well as Babble! And How Punctuation Saved It (illustrated by Roman Muradov). Caroline has won the Sheila Egoff Award, the Chocolate Lily Book Award and the Diamond Willow Award, among many other honors. She lives in Vancouver, B.C. |
| Illustrated by |
|
LAUREN TAMAKI is a designer and award-winning illustrator whose clients include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Nickelodeon and Disney. Her book with Elizabeth Partridge, Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration received a Sibert Informational Book Medal. Lauren is a proud alumna of Alberta College of Art + Design and splits her time between New York City and Toronto, Ontario. |
| Audience | ages 3 to 6 / grades P to 1 |
| Key Text Features | biographical information; biographical note; dialogue; further information; historical context; historical note; illustrations; informational note; literary references; poems |
| Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2 |