Little Cloud and Lady Wind

The Morrisons ("Peeny Butter Fudge") examine the problem of being part of a group while maintaining one's identity. Quietly rebellious Little Cloud will not join the other clouds, who want to terrify the earth with storm and thunder. She loves the earth and wants to live there. Lady Wind carries her through a storm and brings her to a valley spangled with dew, mist, and a rainbow, as Little Cloud learns she can be part of the earth without losing her cloudness. In Qualls's ("Before John Was a Jazz Giant") collages, Little Cloud has pensive expressions and puffy blue hair, while Lady Wind has the flowing hair and gown of a goddess. The homey, cut-and-paste nature of the pencil lines, cut-paper stars, and pale blue paint strokes forms a comfortable counterpoint to the mythic dimensions of the story. Despite some lyrical passages (Little Cloud looked again and saw a necklace of many colors stretching from her place in the sky to the valley), the text sometimes feels heavy-handed; the conclusion, in contrast to the story's espousal of freedom, seems preordained. Ages 4-8. "(Jan.)"

Copyright 2010 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 3 When the biggest cloud calls all of the others together in order to "terrify the earth with storm and thunder," Little Cloud wanders away to a quiet place in the sky. She enjoys her freedom and longs to engage with such earthly delights as flowers and ocean waves. Lady Wind observes her dreams and carries her off, past the pursuing thunderclouds, the lightning, and the dark mountains. In the morning, they arrive at a place where Little Cloud can see a rainbow, dew falling from her garments, and mist, and she happily declares, "Now I see. I can be me "and" part of something too." Young readers will empathize with Little Cloud's desire to be independent and free from what is expected of her, and they will feel her happiness at finding a place where she can realize her dreams with the help of a nurturing figure. But the oft-told story is tired, and even Qualls's whimsical depictions of a cherubic little girl with cloud hair and a Thelonius Monk-channeling storm cloud can't freshen it. The message of Aesop's "The Bundle of Sticks," that there is "strength in unity" the fable that Morrison claims inspired this talei s lost on young readers."C. J. Connor, Campbell County Public Library, Cold Spring, KY"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.