Bui, who had never illustrated a traditional picture book before, won praise for her use of colors and was recognized with a 2018 Caldecott Honor.

[1][2] Following a blog post he wrote about another one its titles, Capstone Publishers reached out to Phi to ask him to submit a children's book; he then shared with them the "script" to A Different Pond.

[1][3] After seeing Thi Bui's illustrations, Phi was struck by their beauty and power and decided to remove some of the writing, thinking that the pictures served to describe what he was feeling.

[7] The father acts as an excellent parent, working to make life better for his son while also mentoring, guiding, and providing a loving home for him,[9][10] which helps him mature and grow.

[7] Bui's background in cartoons and elements of graphic novels, helps to capture the mood and feel of the text.

[6] In the words of Anna Haase Krueger writing for School Library Journal, "The text placement and composition of the illustrations allow each occurrence or observation to be its own distinct event, stringing together the small, discrete moments that make up a life, a memory, and a history into a cohesive whole.

It earned starred reviews from Booklist, where reviewer Sarah Hunter described the book as a "wistful, beautifully illustrated story" and recognised the applicability of its central theme to immigrant families, and to struggling families generally;[8] author Minh Lê, writing for The Horn Book Magazine, praised the "powerfully understated picture book" and recognized its ability to shift the focus of the refugee narrative from the painful journey to the reality awaiting the family members once they reach their destination.

In her acceptance speech Bui praised Phi saying he had "one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever met and bravely wearing it openly for everyone to see and learn from.