Joseph Kuefler, a first-time author-illustrator of picture books, has created a tale that will appeal to every child’s sense of adventure. Ernest D. wonders what lies at the bottom of the pond alongside his home. He soon determines that the pond has no end, which he declares is “exceptional.” He then gathers his explorer supplies and, with his dog, dives into the pond. What he finds at the end of the pond is another world filled with good things and ghoulish things as well. All that is hidden in this newly discovered land is “exceptional.” Upon his arrival back home, he concludes that his home and his town are a little less ordinary. His journey showed him that everything that surrounds his life is a place unexplored. Ernest D. declares this revelation “exceptional.”
