Okay, I’ll admit it: I was skeptical about A Pond, A Poet, and Three Pests. A lot of kids books about poetry are forced, or celebrate poetry without really being poetic. However, Caroline Adderson’s 2025 picture book is more successful due to its focus and structure. It focuses on the Japanese haiku master Basho, and uses a structure that blends appropriate temptations/irritations for a poet with the repeating challenges of fairy tales. A carp, a lily, and a mosquito all visit Basho while he sits. (The book says he’s thinking, but his posture is closer to a classic meditation seating.) All try to distract him or claim center stage in his mind (and poetry); all fail.
Then a frog jumps, and in its splash generates Basho’s classic haiku, thus modeling both Western inspiration and the Zen moment of satori.
Lauren Tamaki’s illustrations echo Japanese landscapes. They are both engaging in themselves and do a good job of framing the text.
