Big Old Garden

Beside the Pond: A Big Old Garden Story is a nature-inspired children's book in the spirit of Thornton Burgess and Beatrix Potter. It is the sequel to the well-received nature-inspired children’s book, A Year in the Big Old Garden. Like its predecessor, Beside the Pond introduces young listeners to a cast of backyard birds and animals, and follows their adventures through the seasons. Fans of the Big Old Garden will meet new friends as well as some old ones, and experience the world through the perspective of a bullfrog who has a little problem. 

A Year in the Big Old Garden is a collection of children’s stories in the spirit of beloved classics by Thornton Burgess and Beatrix Potter. These 12 short stories mix whimsical storytelling with the love and knowledge of backyard wildlife. Turn waiting rooms, car trips, and bedtimes into moments of enjoyment as you meet animals like Sammy the squirrel, Jasper the chipmunk, and Smudge the rabbit, and follow their adventures through the seasons.

This companion story takes us back to The Big Old Garden at the most wonderful time of the year. Meet Maggie the nuthatch and other winter-loving birds as they cope with an unseasonably bitter freeze and a seasonally appropriate resolution.