April 1, 2022
Grades 1-3 On a cloudy day, a girl's inside when she spies a bird on the windowsill--"Hello, little friend! Are you as bored as I am? Don't clouds ruin everything?" Perhaps not, as the girl, astride the bird, embarks on a fanciful adventure, soaring over land and sea and flitting above, below, and even through clouds. Along the way, the curious girl asks lots of questions ("Why are clouds so far away?" "Do you think clouds have memories?") and makes whimsical observations--upon seeing dinosaur-shaped clouds, for instance, she notices how cloud types (cumulus, stratus) sound like dinosaur names. Eventually, storms gather, and the girl returns to the safety of her room with new perspective--"Aren't clouds WONDROUS?" Enchanting mixed-media illustrations, including intricate paper dioramas, are an inviting blend of close-ups and overviews, with realistic and fantastic elements in soft-textured, translucent layers. Some of the girl's questions are answered in back matter, though some of the referenced scientific concepts and terms (like helium rain) may need explaining. Also includes a cloud classification chart and online sources.
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