Review by Booklist Review
This picture-book tribute to windy days features satisfying, singsongy rhyming couplets that creatively describe a variety of windblown neighborhood adventures. Beginning with basic descriptors (Windows rattle. / Doors creeaaak. / Chimes sing. / We peek), the action tracks Mom, Grandma, a young boy, and his toddler sister as they fly kites, visit the seashore, splash in puddles, chase after hats, and dodge raindrops. Bright, warm hues welcome the family home just as a storm hits, and then it's time for baths, stories, and bed. All four thoroughly enjoy their blustery day, demonstrating delight in one another and with the changing weather. Each stanza consists of four two-word sentences. The rhymes are fresh and unpredictable, and the narrative maintains a crisp rhythm throughout. Christy's illustrations align closely with the text, effectively capturing swirling winds, swinging signs, and swaying tree branches. Pair this with Helen Cox Cannons' nonfiction title Wind (2014) to create an enticing and bracing introduction to spring weather for young readers.--McBroom, Kathleen Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Sweeney makes her children's book debut with a clipped, poetic ode to the blustery days of spring, tracing a boy's active day with his grandmother as they fly (and lose) a kite, visit a windswept seashore, and romp around a playground before dashing home ahead of a storm. Working in a palette of bright pink, green, blue, and gold, Christy creates mixed-media scenes that manage the neat trick of evoking a cozy small-town atmosphere while giving a tangible sense of the wind's fearsome power as "Windows whistle./ Vanes spin./ Candles flicker./ We grin." Ages 3-5. Author's agent: Carrie Hannigan, Hannigan Salky Getzler. Illustrator's agent: Justin Rucker, Shannon Associates. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-For many people, a windstorm might be reason to stay inside safe and sound. However, the family in this book looks at a windy day as an adventurous day for kite-flying fun. Simple, rhythmic two-word phrases appear on each page in four-line stanza. "When the wind blows" repeats every three stanzas to create a dependable structure in this poetic text. Strong verbs such as "whistles," "flicker," "swish," and "clang" allow readers to experience the blustery day with sounds, feeling, and imagery. The rhythm of the book seems to mimic the steady blow of the wind on each page. Young readers will enjoy following the story in the supporting gorgeous watercolor images as they watch the winds pick up speed, sending the family on a wild chase trying to catch their kite, and making a groom lose his hat on his wedding day. Older readers can dive deep into the rich language of each page. This story line spans multiple pages, and readers will enjoy looking for the hat and kite throughout the book. Each illustration supports the text with each noun appearing in the image with many additional details, which can offer young readers an "I spy" opportunity on each page. As the rain and wind pick up, the family makes its way back inside to the familiar routines of getting ready for bed. This book will be a great bedtime story, and educators will appreciate the descriptive language when teaching creative writing and poetry. A welcome addition to collections.-Andy Plemmons, David C. Barrow Elementary, Athens, GA (c) Copyright 2014. 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
When the wind blows... / Windows rattle. / Doors creeaaak. / Chimes sing. / We peek." A simple rhyming text and lively art tell this blustery-day story. A mother, baby, child, and grandmother enjoy flying a kite, walking on the beach, playing in the park, and finally snuggling up indoors. The mixed-media illustrations aptly capture the wild weather as the storm increases in intensity. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Whipping, wild wind calls a grandmother and her grandson out-of-doors into the frenzied, fantastic fray with a kite and giddy grins. Electric colors (cerulean blues, emerald greens, brilliant magentas) evoke the kinetic energy that crackles before a storm and the irrepressible excitement a good squall brings out in young and old. Who really feels gray and dreary right before a proper storm? Cheerful, phosphorescent illustrations stretch across double-page spreads, with the boy's flapping kite, the salty seaside town, its beach and white-capped ocean all bending to the wind's howl. The artwork's consistent slant creates a joyously cockeyed perspective that conveys the madcap glee of the grandmother and grandchild's pre-storm surge through their neighborhood. Young readers race alongside them, pausing to scan each scene for the bustling activities of others: a boatman's wave, a bundled baby, a leaping dog, a bride and groom emerging from the chapel. The wind whirls all around these townsfolk and through the book's exhilarating verse toometronomic and as succinct as the heartbeat throbbing in the cold ears of a child racing back to his dry house: "Trees dance. / Spiders curl. / Mice shiver. / Leaves swirl." Gale-force gusts of invigorating artwork and imagery will leave readers breathless in windswept wonder. (Picture book. 2-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
