STORMY SATURDAY

A little girl and her big brother make the most of a rainy day by using their imaginations to have fantastical adventures indoors.

Eight-year-old Braydon and his almost-5-year-old sister Brooklynn (pictured by illustrator Kerber as two blond white children) are stuck inside their home on Sammie Street on a rainy day. Piles of laundry and bedding in Braydon’s messy room turn into “Mount Clothia,” a mountain so high it reaches the stars. A blustery wind blows open a window and the children must escape a giant’s clutching hands (the drapes) in the “Flying Forest.” The basement laundry room becomes “Whispering Waterfalls,” home to trolls. The adventures and the full-bleed, brightly colored illustrations that depict them offer child-pleasing mild humor and suspense. Beyond encouraging young readers to cultivate creativity and use their imaginations—with no screens to distract them—Blyth (Escaped the Night, 2016) offers a message about the rewards of brother-sister bonding. Braydon’s initial reluctance to spend the day with Brooklynn, giving way to enjoyment as his sister eagerly follows along, rings true. The 8-year-old’s snippy reluctance to become the follower when Brooklynn comes up with her own adventure is overdone, but there is pleasing warmth in the resolution of the escapade and the siblings’ return to their everyday life.

Celebrates inventive play and offers a refreshingly positive message about sibling harmony.