A Pond, A Poet
and Three Pests
By Caroline Adderson
Groundwood Books, Oct 2025
Designed by Lucia Kim and Lauren Tamaki
Edited by Karen Li
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?” she 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 her 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!
“Shifting perspectives and curving linework create a rippling effect that brings a sense of dreaminess and intrigue to the double-page spreads. The creatures’ fluid movements progress closer to the foreground of the verso to the center of the recto, while their calligraphic dialogue radiates emotion as they try to convince Bashō they are the best.”
— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Tamaki presents her visceral illustrations in saturated swathes of blues and greens with pleasingly popping yellows and pinks. Multiple close-ups of uninterruptible Bashō brilliantly ensures that his wide-eyed, rainbow-energy-emitting final portrait is a humorous, affecting delight.”A gleefully inventive tale that captures the provenance of one of history’s most famous poems.”
— Kirkus
“Using brushed ink on wet paper to create atmospheric moonlit scenes, Tamaki depicts a poet at work, sitting quietly, seemingly oblivious to distractions, and responding at last not to the elegant fish, the lovely flower, or the long-legged insect diva but to the plain frog who takes a flying leap into the pond and inspires the most famous haiku ever: “Old pond— / Frog jumps in. / Splash!”
— Booklist
“Adderson’s playful fable offers a meditation on art, ego and the accidental nature of inspiration. Illustrated by Lauren Tamaki, the book features expressive ink drawings that blend classical and contemporary tones.”
— BC Lookbook