Runaway Pond

Based on a true story, this tribute to everyday heroism doubles as a lyrical primer on how landscapes evolve.

Long Pond—clear, reflective, and bent in the middle like a crooked finger—has been a source of joy and nourishment to a Vermont village for many years. But when a sudden late-summer storm causes the pond to swell and burst its banks, endangering everyone in its path, only one person is fast enough to warn the villagers downstream. Spencer Chamberlain, the long-legged winner of countless foot races, sprints off to cries of “Run, Chamberlain, run!” All survive, thanks to his efforts. But after the storm the glassy pond is gone, leaving the village, and future generations, with something altogether different—and every bit as nourishing. In a gentle tall tale inspired by true events that are explored in the book’s afterword, Vermont author Nancy Price Graff reveals the constantly evolving landscapes all around us, while Bagram Ibatoulline’s glorious paintings speak to the beauty and inevitability of change.

Nancy Price Graff is the author of seven previous books for children and adults, including In the Hush of the Evening and Taking Wing, and her work has been nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award. A graduate of Middlebury College, Nancy Price Graff lives in Montpelier, Vermont.

Bagram Ibatoulline has illustrated many acclaimed books for children, including The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman; On the Blue Comet by Rosemary Wells; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Great Joy, both by Kate DiCamillo; and The Serpent Came to Gloucester by M. T. Anderson. Bagram Ibatoulline lives in Chichester, New York.