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THE WHIRLYS AND THE WEST WIND by Christine Ross

THE WHIRLYS AND THE WEST WIND

by Christine Ross & illustrated by Christine Ross

Pub Date: Sept. 1st, 1993
ISBN: 0-395-65379-7
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

When the wind blows their parents away, the Whirly children check the phone book's emergency pages for help, but to no avail. So they settle in to wait, while the ``muddle'' in the house becomes a ``mess'' and then a ``maze where nothing could be found.'' Finally, since no one else is looking after them, they decide to do it themselves. On Jack's two days, they go to school; on Flora's, they stay home and play pirates; the baby's cozy agenda includes stories and early bed. On the seventh day, they tidy up—to their parents' delight when they finally blow in again. Ross brings just the right touch to this fanciful blend of license and responsibility, both in her brisk, tongue-in-cheek narrative and in softly cross-hatched, amusingly detailed illustrations of the wide-eyed kids enjoying and coping with their independence. (Picture book. 4-8)