A Guide to Pond Life

This is one of the best books in the entire series, and I have probably over 30 of them, including some that are out of print (such as the one on Non-Flowering plants). I worked in the publishing industry as a writer and editor for eight years, and in my humble opinion the little Golden Guides are an almost unique set of books. They convey a tremendous amount of information in small compass (the guides are all 256 pages long, interestingly enough), and extremely well written and illustrated. They have been the primers for several generations of young people interested in natural history, and their influence has been substantial. Originally starting out with titles such as Birds and Mammals, back in the 40s, by the 60s they had branched out into other areas with guides on other natural history areas such as Insects, Spiders, Rocks and Minerals, structural geology, The Stars, The Sky Obsevers Guide, Light and Color, which covered the science of Optics. In physiology there was the guide on The Heart, and even books on Guns and Fishing. The guides on Botany, Pond Life, and Non-Flowering plants were some of the highest level ones they did. This guide covers everything from protozoa to macroscopic life forms that can be found in a pond. As a 9 year old boy with his first microscope, I used this guide to help identify the first green alga that I found, which was chlorella, which was quite common. I also found rotifers, paramecia, blue green algae, and a few euglena. But for a long time, this was my only guide. Eventually I acquired other more advanced books in junior high and high school, and went on to major in and study physiology and botany in college and grad school, but in many ways this wonderful little set of books was where my interest and education all started. Overall, this is another great book in the series, and as I said, possibly the greatest little series of its type ever written. Many other series have come out since, but none have accomplished as much in such small format as these terrific little books.

I'm very much a nature lover. When this book arrived, I saw the small size (about 6" x 4") I felt a little dissappointed. I thought at least it would be something 'cute' for my kids, but would be far too basic for me. NOT AT ALL! I'm learning things I had no idea about. Did you know there are FRESHWATER JELLYFISH! I didn't! Do you get energized learning about things in the natural environment? If so, you might really want to give this book a try. The book does not go into tremendous detail about each critter or topic covered, but does so enough to grasp the subject matter, and further research if you're interested. As I did with freshwater jellyfish - for which I now have bookmarked videos of them. Another thing I liked, my attention span is not all that good. In my day, you got a smack on the back of the head, now they call it adhd....I found the book easy to read and follow. It's not like the longwinded boring educational type of book. You can flip through, find pictures of stuff you want to learn about and read - you don't have to read in a cover to cover manner. Very cool book, very nice suprises reading it!

If your child loves science and has an interest with frogs, insects, and pond life, this little book is a wonderful colorfully illustrated book they would surely enjoy! Informative and detailed illustrations to go along with easy reading of plants, birds, fish, and microscopic life you can find in a pond. Small enough to place in their back pocket or book bag. I think Golden Guide books St. Martin present a very easy book to understand and explore all kinds of animal and plant life.

This little book is a bargain if you want to identify aquatic plants, animals, etc. commonly found in US lakes & ponds. All color plates and well put together.