When the Wind Came
by Jan Andrews (Author) Dorothy Leung (Illustrator)
In this timely, poetic story of hope amid loss, acclaimed writer and storyteller Jan Andrews’s touching picture book reminds us how, even on the darkest days, light can always be found.
It’s a normal day, at first, for a girl on her family farm. But soon, the wind picks up. It blows harder and harder and harder. Her mother grabs her baby brother. Her father opens the door to the root cellar. The family piles in and sits in darkness. When they are finally able to emerge, their home is gone. Through a series of short sentences, many beginning with “I remember ... ,” readers share with the girl her experience of shock, terror, sadness and, finally, hope.
Acclaimed, award-winning children’s author and storyteller Jan Andrews’s last-ever picture book contains a beautiful and grace-filled story of resilience. Using a child’s point of view and the perspective of remembering, Andrews’s expressive writing provides comfort as it portrays the way joy and laughter can be found in even the worst times. Dorothy Leung uses fluid lines to convey the energy and the emotional arc of the story as her images move quickly from ordinary to extraordinary. With so many natural and human-caused disasters affecting children every day, this deceptively simple book offers a gentle discussion-starter as it captures a universal experience through one specific story.
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School Library Journal
K-Gr 2--A young girl states over and over "I remember." First she remembers her surroundings: her father shouting at cows, her mother pulling weeds, her baby brother whimpering. Then she remembers the wind, and how the whole family had to flee into the root cellar, only to emerge to find their home destroyed. While the family slowly begins to clean up after the storm, the girl blows soap bubbles--a small act which provides the family with a moment of much-needed laughter. Spare text is perfectly matched with simple illustrations in an emotionally resonant color palette: warm earth browns morph into menacing grays then into a spread that is completely black, save for two lines of white text (when the family is in the darkness of the root cellar); when the storm has passed, clear blues and greens and hints of red as the mother prepares a meal and the girl helps clean up. The message here is not a sugar-coated "everything will be fine," but an honest acknowledgement of fear followed by unexpected moments of grace. Characters are all depicted with brown skin and dark hair. VERDICT A powerful story about loss and healing told in simple text and pictures. Particularly relevant to students who have been through the trauma of any extreme event, weather or otherwise.--Sue Morgan
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Dorothy Leung studied and worked in architecture before taking the headlong plunge into her illustration dream. In her work she strives to evoke empathy, nostalgia and wonder. When the Wind Came is her first book; The Bird Feeder is her second. Dorothy lives near Tkaronto (Toronto), Ontario.
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV029020 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Weather
JUV029030 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Disasters
Families
Storms
Disasters
