Review by Booklist Review
Ages 5^-9. Although Wiesner's latest picture-book fantasy appears at first to be wordless, it actually has some words that are quite important. On a class trip to the Empire State Building, a boy who likes to draw is approached by a friendly cloud who takes him to Sector 7, a "terminal" reminiscent of a train station in the sky, where clouds form according to blueprints drawn up by grumpy, unimaginative humans. It seems the clouds are itching for a makeover, and the boy, pencil and paper in hand, gives it to them. Because words such as terminal, arrivals, and assignment station, which appear on signs in the pictures, are necessary to establish the scene in some instances, younger children may need adult help with the book. There are also a few glitches that observant kids might notice. Why, for example, has the boy's art pad been switched to his left pocket in one picture? But the clever sometimes overlapping illustrations are wonderful: strong and precise, they range from detailed, realistic renderings of places and human characters to pictures of fluffy clouds, at once diaphanous and substantial, complete with expressive faces, and fat, fascinating four-fingered hands. A book for somewhat older children than the ones who "read" books by John Goodall and his ilk, but a good choice for getting the imagination to work. --Stephanie ZvirinRBBReference Books Bulletin
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Caldecott Medalist Wiesner (Tuesday) again takes to the air, with watercolors that render words superfluous. Here, a boy on a class trip to the Empire State Building discovers that the landmark, enveloped by fog, is nonetheless a gateway to incredible vistas indeed. The boy is soon befriended by a jolly cloud that whisks him off to a sort of Grand Central in the sky, which functions as headquarters for clouds in the metro areaÄSector 7. Giant tubes funnel the clouds in and out of a designated waiting area; boards overhead track arrivals and departures (e.g., "Altocumulus" Dep. 1:03, Tube 21W). Uniformed bureaucrats keep their eyes on the skies in various locations (Hoboken, Brooklyn, Manhattan, etc.) by means of TV-type monitors, and issue each departing cloud an architectural-type drawing with precisely delineated shapes and measurements to which it must conform. The complex is rendered with the hard edges and clear definition of ultra-realism, a style that serves as an effective foil for both the wispy clouds and the story's fantastical premise. Magnificent as the "Cloud Dispatch Center" is, it is only the beginning. For the boy, having discerned the clouds' dissatisfaction with their pedestrian assignments, alters the drawings and specs so that the clouds begin to transform into blowfish, angel fish and octopus shapes. Even after the unamused bureaucrats discover his creations and summarily return him by cloud taxi to his classmates, the boy's influence persists: an elaborate tropical-sea-in-the-sky astonishes his friends (and strangers on the street), draws fish to the surface of the river, and has the city's indoors cats pawing at their windowpanes in excitement. Starting from a simple, almost obvious ideaÄonce one has thought of itÄWiesner offers up an ingenious world of nearly unlimited possibilities. His paintings, at once highly playful and purely pristine, contain such a wealth of details that they reveal new discoveries even after repeated examinations. The frame-within-a-frame that depicts the boy's first glimpse of the Sector 7 complex, for instance, is a mesmerizing study of the variegated colors and textures of clouds. The work as a whole is an inspired embodiment of what seems to be this artist's approach to story and vision: the more you look, the more there is to see. Ages 5-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-A playful mist transports a schoolboy from the observation deck of the Empire State Building to a colossal cloud factory. Intricate watercolors convey the wonder and whimsy of this magical adventure. (Sept.) (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-Wiesner's fans will be on Cloud 9 with this wordless scenario of a class trip to the Empire State Building. An initial visual clue of the drama is a fullpage illustration before the title page of a boy drawing sea creatures on the frosted windowpane of a school bus. On the top observation deck amid hovering clouds, the boy's red scarf and hat are spirited off and onto a white, puffy cloud figure (whose face is a cross between Little Toot and Casper the Ghost). The boy's new cloud pal transports him to Sector 7 and the Cloud Dispatch Center, where, akin to a train station, arrivals and departures are scheduled. The boy is introduced to other cloud forms and learns how they are shaped and channeled across the country as designated by individual blueprints. When the artistic youngster draws fanciful fish and the clouds assume their shapes, the dispatchers are shocked and ban the boy from the sector. His cloud pal returns him to the class outing, where he floats off the elevator onto the school bus. The climatic finish amuses and puzzles everyone in the story and will delight readers. The artist's fascination with floating and flying escapades is as free spirited and frolicsome as in his Tuesday (Clarion, 1991), Free Fall (Lothrop, 1988), and June 29, 1999 (Clarion, 1992). The framed panels have a cinematic quality that sweeps readers off into the clouds along with the boy. This wittily depicted stretch of the imagination displays Wiesner's talent in top form.-Julie Cummins, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) Finding shapes in the clouds is a grand pastime on a lazy day. But what makes those shapes anyway? and what if you had the power to alter them, to create new forms and details when amorphous arrangements are the norm? In a fittingly wordless book, this is exactly what happens to one young boy on a field trip to the top of the Empire State Building-where anything can happen, if movies are to be believed. This time, as the building is veiled in mist, a friendly cloud appears to the boy and after a few playful moments takes him on a tour of Sector 7, a factory-like satellite where clouds are shaped, classified, and distributed. The structure is like a Victorian railroad station with signs noting arrival and departure times, but tubes shaped like large funnels, not tracks, disperse the clouds to their assigned locations. The organization is hierarchical, regimented, and traditional. Perhaps that is why the playful cloud interjects a new element-a boy with imagination who can draw. And draw he does, fantastic shapes of sea life that confound the regular staff members who do not appreciate his artistry. Expelled for insubordina-tion, he is sent via cloud-carrier back to the Empire State Building just in time to rejoin his schoolmates for the return trip. But there is a different aura about him, and the clouds he inspired are amazing onlookers-much to the consternation of Sector 7! As with all wordless books, individual readers will supply the ""text""; consequently, interpre-tations of exactly what's going on may differ depending upon age, sophistication, and experience. The illustrations, ranging from full-page spreads to small vignettes, are startlingly and powerfully conceived, the fanciful cloud-shapes both funny and elegant. Reminiscent of both William P+ne du Bois's Lion and Pat Cummings's C.L.O.U.D.S., the book nevertheless ascends to new heights. In fact, it definitely inspires a bit of sky-watching. m.m.b. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
From levitating frogs to giant vegetables that take wing, Wiesner resuscitates his fondness for flying in another stretch of his imagination. In a wordless story told through picture panels and murals, a young boy is overtaken by fog on a class field trip to the top of the Empire State Building. He befriends a snowmanlike cloud who dons the boy's red cap and scarf and wings him to an ominous factory in the sky. Dubbed Sector 7, this imposing, industrial hunk of machinery is a Grand Central Station for clouds, from which they're all dispatched. The boy learns that clouds can freely take on various shapes, and soon has them twisting and stretching themselves into fish, to the dismay of the grim, uniformed workers. In a showy display, the clouds invade Manhattan, surprising cats at windows and children below. Wiesner's fans will rediscover all his favorite motifs'dreams overlapping reality, metamorphosing creatures, and more'rendered in precise watercolors with tilted perspectives. Others will find themselves scratching their heads as to his purpose, other than indulging in elliptical displays and in pointlessly defying convention. (Picture book. 5-7)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
