A Pond Full of Ink

Every once and awhile I get an absolute gem of a book through the Early Reviewers Program and this time it is a diamond of the highest quality. Annie M G Schmidt's book A Pond Full of Ink is filled with poems that captivated my whole family from my young son who is 4 through me (the eldest at

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40-um-something). My 5 year old is just learning to read and poems are a wonderful way for her to get the sense of accomplishment that comes from reading something beginning to end. The translation was done by David Colmer but I kind of wonder what they looked like in Ms. Schmidt's native Dutch.

In addition to the poems, the artwork of Sieb Posthuma is breathtaking in the way it expresses a sense of pictures through words that Ms. Schmidt's poems are able to create. Such color and strength this pictures have, so bright and vibrant in every way possible. The book copy I got is unbound which is delightful because we plan to frame some of the complete poems and hang them on our wall as art.... yes it is that good.

Bravo for this wonderful family book of poetry and pictures.

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Other reviewers have made mention of this book being in the tradition and/or style of Shel Silverstein, but I'm afraid I can't assess it without offering the same observation. I did enjoy reading it through, but I can't say that it supplants the current favorites at the top of my children's poetry

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list. The obvious difficulty of poetry in translation is apparent here, but the illustrations are quite charming.

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This collection of newly translated poems by Annie Schmidt is a pure delight. Annie Schmidt is well known in her native Neatherlands, often compared to our own Shel Silverstein. While some of her other works, such as her Jip and Janneke stories and even some of her poetry has been translated into

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English in the past, few are readily available. A Pond Full of Ink includes a broad collection of her poetry and this translation makes it accessible to a new audience. David Colmer has lived in the Netherlands for 20 years, and I believe it is this experience that helps him to capture the spirit of the work as he translated it into English. All translations are tricky, but poetry has to be especially hard. Mr. Colmer deftly handles the translation, retaining the message of the poems and creating poetic interest in English. In an interview Mr. Colmer stated that he sometimes spent months on a single poem searching for the right words and the best rhythm, and I believe his work and dedication has paid off!
Ms. Schmidt won the Hans Christian Anderson Award in 1988, and at the time the jury praised her for her "ironic tone, witty criticism and a style that is amusing, clear, rebellious and simple to its essence." A Pond Full of Ink is a collection of poems that illustrate these qualities, and they are fun to read. The illustrations by Sieb Posthuma add interest and whimsy to the collection, bringing Ms. Schmidt's world to life. A Pond Full of Ink is a great addition to any children's poetry collection, and will surely be loved by fans of Shel Silverstein, Todd Dillard, Barbara Vance and the like.

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This is a beautiful collection of children's poetry. I sat and read it aloud with a group of students, and they were delighted. I can't think of a higher recommendation than that! The art work is beautiful and truly compliments the unique verse. I am thrilled that I own this!

The illustrations in this book make it worth picking up. The pictures are brightly colored and fanciful. However, the poetry does not flow well probably because of being translated into English. The author is a celebrated Dutch writer, but the poems were a miss for me- except for "Belinda Hated

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Getting Clean."

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A delightful collection of a dozen fun, whimsical poems wonderfully complemented with colorful, surreal illustrations. Originally published in The Netherlands.