Tomorrow on Rocky Pond

Bundled in her cabin bed but resisting sleep, a travel-weary youngster anticipates the rituals to be enacted on tomorrow's fishing trip: breakfasting on blueberries, packing the gear, hiking through the woods, picnicking, napping on the moss, swimming--oh yes, and canoeing out to the pond to hook a trout. Reiser manages to compress the sense of an entire summer into a single day. Her bright watercolor and ink illustrations determinedly add cheer to a straightforward, unadorned text. From the early morning mists hovering over the water to firefly lights eerily puncturing the black night, the quiet story rides without friction on rising expectation. Those who hanker for the woods and lakes will find their reminiscences and yearnings delightfully documented as Reiser proves that no one is too young for nostalgia. Ages 3-up. (May)