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MISTY THE CLOUD

Name: MISTY THE CLOUD
Author: Dylan Dreyer
ISBN: 978-0-593-18042-6

FRIENDS THROUGH RAIN OR SHINE

From the Misty the Cloud series

by Dylan Dreyer with Alan Katz ; illustrated by Rosie Butcher ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2022

A slight improvement on the first title, but separate books on rainbows and compromise would better serve kids.

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Today show co-host and meteorologist Dreyer’s sequel to Misty the Cloud (2021) finds Misty celebrating her birthday, which she shares with human Clare.

Clare is having a birthday party. Unfortunately, she’s sharing the party with her younger brother, Tyler, whose birthday is approaching. Clare wants Tyler’s guests and party paraphernalia to stay on their own side of the yard. But that may be moot when it starts to rain. The cause? Misty’s party game of One, Two, Three, Can’t Catch Me!, which also gets in the way of the sunbeams’ game of Funny Sunny. When sunbeam Raye and Misty finally compromise (cue a bit of didacticism) on a game that equally suits both clouds and sunbeams, the result—a rainbow—not only allows the humans’ parties to go forward but makes for “the perfect decoration.” And the icing on the cakes? The siblings ultimately, though a bit facilely, enjoy a truly joint party. (The clouds and sunbeams demonstrate compromise much better than the humans.) Backmatter includes some weather facts and terms and a rainbow-making activity; both seem a bit above the target audience’s age range. As with the prior title, the illustrations are the true stars, their vibrant colors and delightful anthropomorphized characters stealing the thunder from the too-easily-solved social problem. Clare and Tyler are light-skinned; other human characters are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A slight improvement on the first title, but separate books on rainbows and compromise would better serve kids. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-593-18042-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
MISTY THE CLOUD
by Dylan Dreyer with Alan Katz ; illustrated by Rosie Butcher

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THE WATER PRINCESS

by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...

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An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.

Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.

Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
ARE YOU LISTENING?
by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Juliana Perdomo

- BOOK REVIEW
WHO I AM
by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

- BOOK REVIEW
CAN YOU SEE IT?
by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Juliana Perdomo

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)