Books for Children
...A book which dazzles children while educating them
about the remarkable ecology of the vernal pool.
Massachusetts Center for Book, Best Picture Book Award 2025
The Noisy Puddle
A lyrical dip into the noisy, magical world of a vernal pool.
In this vibrant and poetic informational picture book, two curious siblings observe the hidden world of a vernal pool: a special kind of puddle habitat that pops up in the spring, dries up by summer, reappears in the fall, and freezes over in the winter—only to come back again in the spring.
Young naturalists and future water stewards will be encouraged to listen, watch, and wait to witness the seasonal changes of the ever-changing puddle and its inhabitants. As readers follow along with the rhythmic text, they will be fascinated to discover many familiar and not-so-familiar creatures that make up the surprising web of interrelationships living in these vital pop-up pools.
With buoyant, lyrical text and beautiful cut-paper collage illustrations, The Noisy Puddle is an immersive introduction to “now-you-see-me, now-you-don’t” wetland habitats.
Activity Guides >
Curriculum Connections >
Awards & Lists
Best Books of the Year 2025 Bank Street College of Education's Best Books of the Year 2025
Blueberry Award
Evanston Public Library
Notable Children's Book
Association for Library Service to Children
31 Lists, 31 Days
SLJ - Fuse 8 Production
101 Great Books for Kids
Evanston Public Library
Kirkus Best of 2024
Kirkus Reviews
TPL First and Best
Toronto Public Library
Best Books for Kids and Teens
Canadian Children's Book Centre
Review of the Day/Best Book
SLJ - Fuse 8 Production
Starred Review
Kirkus Reviews
Best Picture Book - 2025
Massachusetts Center for the Book
Science Fridays Best Science Books for Kids
Science Fridays Radio - 2025
Reviews and Praise
“Readers will be delighted… Nature offers up marvelous surprises at every turn – even via humble puddle teeming with life.”
– Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
"This book literally has everything you would want in a science and nature title for younger readers. It’s engaging, rhyming, keeps
its text and subject matter appropriate for lower grades, pops visually on virtually every page, and contains ample backmatter
to support everything it says. It is, in short, a book one cannot miss. Beautiful from tip to tail
and back again."
-- Betsy Bird, Fuse 8
“A sensory experience promising to tickle the curiosity of young naturalists, whether in-classroom or on the scene.”
– School Library Journal
Videos
Spokane Country Librarians Review "The Noisy Puddle"!
“The Noisy Puddle is one of the few core texts we have to use with curious Kindergarteners during our year-long vernal pool study here in the Weston (MA) public schools."
Thank you so much for bringing this most magical of habitats and ecosystems to life!
Christie Wyman -
Teacher, Country School, Weston