LITTLE CLOUD

A sophisticated idea deftly packed into a simple text. Little Cloud drifts away from its flock and turns into different shapes: sheep, airplane, trees, clown. Carle (A Very Lonely Firefly, 1995, etc.) has created a memorable protagonist and an appropriately abstract and formless plot. The text is printed on background the color of sky, on which appear clouds: familiar fluffy shapes covered with white and icy blue brushstrokes. As usual, Carle employs a limited number of elements, each under tight control. This restraint is precisely what gives the book its overall depth, imparting to the story and pictures a sense of possibility. The result is a philosophical suggestion, scaled to a child's sensibility, as open to interpretation as the passing clouds. (Picture book. 2-6)