I am the wind

We know that wind often surrounds us, but do we know where it goes? Do we know what animals need it, or how powerful the wind can be? In this vibrant and beautifully illustrated book, the wind tells of its adventures, whisking readers along with it. In a dark forest, a snowy owl harnesses the wind to take flight high above the wintry landscape. So too, the wind blows through the cold tundra, where the musk ox huddle together to stay warm. The shimmering aurora borealis mingles with swirling air above reindeer as they graze. The wind takes readers all the way to Everest's peak, to Africa's jungles, and across oceans until it arrives back where the story began, at the feet of a curious child. The book ends with a map showing each of the wind's stops on its journey around the world, as well as additional information on animals encountered along the way. A bibliography closes out this original travelogue.

The wind travels the world meeting creatures in their habitats on five continents. This powerful, omniscient force narrates its own adventures. First felt whisking up leaves and turning umbrellas inside out on an autumn day in a city, the wind quickly moves on to fly with a barred owl through "frost and fog" before continuing northward to frolic with a wolverine in high, snowy mountain peaks, then racing with wolves as they chase their prey. Across day and night, mountains and valleys, the wind sleeps with musk ox and blows beneath northern lights with reindeer. In each place wind has an effect on the wildlife it meets: "whistling" across a snow leopard's ledge in the highlands, delighting chimps in a storm in Congo, helping migratory geese on their journey, boosting petrels as they fly above the sea, flitting high in the clouds with an olinguito, or stirring up puddles in the bayou to startle gopher frogs. Karg gives voice to the wind in lovely, poetic language and syntax, following each encounter with the bold, assertive title statement, "I AM THE WIND." Each creature, whether familiar or obscure, and each location is seen in a double-page spread with beautiful, light-filled, mesmerizing illustrations that are at once accurate and ethereal. A map showing the locations of all the animals represented and a bit of further information about them concludes the work and brings readers back to Earth after this incredible journey. A gorgeous, breathtaking experience. (Picture book. 4-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.