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The Pond

by Nicola Davies

Interest age: 5+
Reading age: 7+

Published by Graffeg Books, 2017

  • Picture books

About this book

A young boy and his father are preparing to build a pond in the garden, but they only get as far as digging a muddy hole before Dad passes away. Will the pond ever get finished, or will it be left as a gap in the ground? And will the water lilies, tadpoles and dragonflies Dad dreamed of ever arrive?

Nicola Davies' tale is heartbreaking and unafraid of tackling the real pain involved in losing someone you love, but it strikes an ultimately hopeful tone. Complemented by Cathy Fisher's astonishingly evocative, swirling and exquisite illustrations, The Pond is a raw and emotional read but an important one, using nature to symbolise the circle of life in a thoughtful, considered and beautiful way.

About the author

Nicola Davies is the author of more than 50 books for children: fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Her work has been published in more than 10 different languages and has won major awards in the UK, US, France, Italy and Germany.

Nicola trained as a zoologist, taking a degree in Natural Sciences from King's College, Cambridge. She spent some years as a field biologist and studied humpback and sperm whales, and bats, before joining the BBC Natural History Unit as a researcher and then presenter.

Following the start of her writing career, Nicola became a senior lecturer in creative writing, at Bath Spa University but has been writing full time for over a decade. She now regularly runs workshops for children and adults to help them find their voices as writers and advocates for nature. In 2017, she was the first recipient of the SLA’s award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Non-fiction and in 2018 had four picture books longlisted for the Greenaway Award.

Find out what Nicola Davies is up to as our Writer in Residence

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