Search Results for: cloud

Cloud Atlas

Aug28
Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cloud Atlas

Everything You Need to Know about Clouds

Sarah Zambello

Suzy Zanella

Thames & Hudson, 2024

80pp., hbk., RRP $A34.99

9781760764500

As I look out my window this morning all I can see is big blue sky but over on the horizon is a roll of sinister-looking clouds that I know herald a snowstorm in the mountains and the prospect of snow here soon as we wait for the “storm of the season” to roll in.  (Another one). I also know that if I looked at the Cloud Atlas in front of me I could learn just what sort of clouds they are apart from “snow clouds”.

The predecessor to both Wave Atlas and Wind Atlas , this is another fascinating, easy-to-read insight into the natural phenomena that dictate so much of our lives.

So many of us have spent hours lying on our backs in the sun, gazing at the clouds as they form and re-form making pictures that have us wondering and imagining.  But what are they? How do they form? Are they all the same? What do they tell us?  What can we learn from observing them? Which ones mean we can have our barbecue in the dry and which ones warn us to stay home?

All of these questions (and more) are answered in this comprehensive guide for young independent readers with a thirst for finding out more about such everyday things, particularly if their imaginations have been sparked by one of the numerous stories about clouds on the library shelves. 

Through accessible text, clear diagrams and stunning skyscapes, they can learn the difference between cirrus and cumulus clouds and all the variations in between, even “accessory clouds” and “mother clouds” Who knew that some clouds cannot bear to be on their own and join up with others, or that some clouds ‘give birth’ to other clouds?  

This is a trio of the most useful and informative books I’ve read and reviewed in a while, and if I’ve learned as much as I have, imagine how much those who are not so old can learn.  

And yes, now I know those that have progressed significantly since I started writing are called nimbostratus  – they develop vertically from a height of 600 metres (we’re at 1100m) and reaching 6000m, composed of water droplets and ice crystals  forming “a thick, dark grey layer” which covers the sun and produces rain or snow!  At this time of the year they are a welcome sight to both local businesses and tourists, but, for me, they are a sign to put another log on the fire because the wind bringing them in is boisterous, thin and mean.

 

 

The Little Cloud

Jul25
The Little Cloud

The Little Cloud

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Little Cloud

Pam Fong

Greenwillow, 2025

40pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9780063359994

The dark before dawn and the clouds have gathered for they have important work to do because each knows that a cloud’s job is to make storms -it’s fun and they love it, so each is busy being busy gathering what they need to create havoc. 

All except one, that is. Little Cloud would much rather slop away to take a moment to enjoy the view of the world below. As light spread overs the land Little Cloud sees the farmer is whistling, the piglets are having a snack, the bees are buzzing, the ducks are waddling, the  stream is babbling and the cows are enjoying the fresh, green grass.  One even winks at him!

But Big Grey Cloud is angry with Little Cloud and no are the others – there’s no time for that sort of nonsense.  There are storms to create..  Until…

It seems like Little Cloud’s life echoes that of many of our children today, as the adults around them always seem to be in a rush and there is no time just to be. As though taking a moment to admire what is around us is not only unworthy and wasting time but something to actually condemn.  But what is actually happening while they are so busy with work, work work and everything else that fills the time? Can the readers spot the looming danger?

This is a clever book that encourages little ones to stay curious, be observant and see the little things that make up life and the clever formatting that ensures they engage with the illustrations support this.  But, at the same time, they could suggest the sort of music and movement that might represent the storm clouds and Little Cloud, contrasting the two and maybe even using their bodies to make it.  It could even spark an investigation into what clouds are, how storms are formed and the weather generally. 

This is a wonderful example of visual storytelling where young readers can involve all their senses as they suggests words that describe what they are seeing, what they might be hearing, how Big Cloud and Little Cloud are feeling, as well as predicting what the two blank pages portray. 

Masterful.

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

Marshmallow Clouds: Poems Inspired by Nature

May24
Marshmallow Clouds: Poems Inspired by Nature

Marshmallow Clouds: Poems Inspired by Nature

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marshmallow Clouds: Poems Inspired by Nature

Ted Kooser & Connie Wanek

Richard Jones

Walker Books, 2022

72pp., hbk., RRP $A32.99

9781529507072

There have been a number of books reviewed on this site over the last couple of years like The Secret Signs of Nature that have encouraged young readers to explore their immediate environment with  critical, sensitive eyes to discover the detail hiding in the big picture. 

But what if, as well as their senses and science brain, they also took their imagination out to play? And what they saw really did become a clown on the top of the hill, up on one leg, juggling a pie, rather than just a winter tree with a long-vacated squirrel’s nest on the end of a branch? 

The subtitle of the US version of this book by former US poet laureate Ted Kooser and and poet Connie Wanek is ” Two Poets at Play Among Figures of Speech” and while a bit dull, nevertheless, it sums up this stunning collection of blank verse poems perfectly.  By letting their imaginations out to play, and using similes and metaphors and other literary devices beloved of English teachers, a thunderstorm becomes something that has become lost in the dark of the house, not wanting to wake us but crashing into walls as they stumble about, occasionally striking a match to see their way; tadpoles become commas making them “the liveliest of all punctuation” ; and a book is transformed into a sandwich with all sorts of goodness between its folded pitta covers!

 Organized by the elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth and accompanied by distinctive, sparse illustrations that interpret the words but which don’t interfere with the picture created by the reader this is an intriguing anthology to dip and delve into, for letting the imagination roam free, wander, and stay healthy. So while we understand that a fire has no stomach, is “never full, never satisfied” and thus must never be set dree, it is an entirely different story for our imaginations.

 

Happiness is a Cloud

Jun30
Happiness is a Cloud

Happiness is a Cloud

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happiness is a Cloud

Robert Vescio

Nancy Bevington

Big Sky, 2020

32pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9781922265715

Out for a walk with his father and dog, Jasper, Harry sees a flying pig! Well. it’s actually a cloud shaped like a flying pig and suddenly the walk is made more interesting as the two spot all sorts of shapes in the clouds overhead.  Even when dark, ominous ones roll in with menacing shapes like a rhinoceros and a wolf that make Harry shiver,  his dad shows him how they are good for the earth and all that grows in it.

 Just as the clouds change shape and colour so does Harry’s mood, particularly when Jasper disappears, and Vescio has cleverly mirrored these changes so young readers can understand that while they may be sad and unhappy now, there will come a change to happier times, just as the sun will always return to peek through and fill us with joy and hope again.  We just need to be patient and resilient to wait for it. That is the silver lining of clouds.

As well as being an engaging way to help young children understand the cycle of moods and feelings, this is also a wonderful way to build imagination and vocabulary as there are few things more peaceful than lying down and watching the endless patterns of clouds. Harry even touches on the question of what clouds are and why they can’t be touched, so that opens up another avenue of investigation while Bevington’s illustrations of Harry, his father and Jasper superimposed onto real cloudscapes will attract the artistic mind.

Living in a rural landscape with no pollution, reading the clouds to predict the weather and just appreciating their diversity of shape, colour, density and speed is one of the joys of the simple life. This book will connect our kids to these oft-overlooked phenomena while also showing them that there is always hope on the horizon.

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Tabitha and the Raincloud

Mar10
Tabitha and the Raincloud

Tabitha and the Raincloud

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tabitha and the Raincloud

Devon Sillett

Melissa Johns

EK, 2020

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781925820133 

Nearly 50 years ago Judith Viorist wrote a book that has become a classic called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and that is exactly what Tabitha is having. From the moment she wakes up in the morning there is a dark raincloud hanging over her head and nothing goes smoothly.  Her scrambled eggs are soggy; her teacher thinks her picture of a giraffe is a dinosaur; and no one wants to sit with her at lunch. It really was a terrible, horrible, no good , very bad day! But then Tabitha remembers that every raincloud has a silver lining…

This is a story that will resonate with every reader for who hasn’t woken up with a raincloud hanging over them, at some stage.  Sadly though, whether we get out of bed on the wrong side or not, we have to get up and deal with what eventuates.  The redemption is though, how we choose to respond to those events and although it takes Tabitha a while, her resilience and natural optimism help see her through.  The most damaging and hurtful things we hear are those our inner voice tells us (particularly if they’re confirming what others tell us) but as we know from The Proudest Blue , we have to learn to“[Not] carry around the hurtful words that others say. Drop them.  They are not yours to keep. They belong only to those who said them.” Instead we need to be like Tabitha and look for the silver lining and change the messages and our actions into something positive. We can’t always get rid of the problems, but we can learn strategies to help manage them so we become more resilient and better people for having to cope. The close relationship between the text and the graphics (a unique form of collage) meld in the final picture that sums up Tabitha’s new knowledge perfectly.

This is an important addition to your mindfulness collection and there are comprehensive teachers’ notes to tease out all the strands of the story.

 

 

Cloud Conductor

May25
Cloud Conductor

Cloud Conductor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cloud Conductor

Kellie Byrnes

Ann-Marie Finn

Wombat Books, 2018

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781925563344

Frankie’s active, outdoors life is cut short when she finds herself confined to a hospital bed and she is physically restricted to the four walls of the room.  But her imagination has no such boundaries and as one of those walls is a large window, she is able to slip outside and explore the beauty and magnificence of the clouds that pass by, something she loved to do when she was well.  Through the seasons their shapes, colours  and movement change and Frankie rejoices in their splendour, listening to their melodies, conducting “symphonies in the sky” as her hands wave in time to the beat of her imagination – even on the darkest of days. She sees their pictures and lets them take her on journeys to familiar and far-away places, far beyond the reaches of those physical walls.

Spring, summer, autumn, winter – the clouds are her escape mechanism allowing her to leave her reality behind, if just for a short time.  And then she realises, this is a gift she can share…

Children don’t have to be in a hospital bed to have horrible stuff happening in their lives and this beautifully illustrated book celebrates the unconfined power of the imagination to escape, even if just for a little while. to somewhere else, to touch base with another world where trouble doesn’t intrude and even offer a fresh perspective on the situation itself.

While teachers’ notes are available, taking the children outside in all sorts of weathers where they can see the sky and letting them look and imagine and conduct their own symphonies would be the most powerful of all.

 

Ivy and the Lonely Raincloud

Aug2
Ivy and the Lonely Raincloud

Ivy and the Lonely Raincloud

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ivy and the Lonely Raincloud

Katie Harnett

Flying Eye Books, 2017

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781911171157

It is summer and the hot sun has scared away all the clouds, leaving one little raincloud sad and lonely.  With his friends gone he decides to find another friend but no one is interested in having a raincloud anywhere near their beautiful sunny day.

Then far below he spies a little girl, one whose body language suggests she is as lonely as he is, although he discovers it’s because she is so grumpy.  But when he also discovers the reason she is such a cranky-pants he realises he is able to help her and so a new friendship is formed…

With its retro palette and style this book explores emotions and feelings in a different way – why does no one want to be friends with the raincloud?  Is it okay for Ivy to be grumpy?  Is rain always such a bad thing? How does the weather affect our mood – and our plans?

Using the pictures as clues and cures, young children might be able to predict the reason for her mood and even how the raincloud can help her, sparking discussions about how we need the rain and its impact on our lives.  Little ones will begin to understand the balance that is needed to keep the planet on an even keel.

The Cloudspotter

Aug28
The Cloudspotter

The Cloudspotter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cloudspotter

Tom McLaughlin

Bloomsbury, 2015

32pp., hbk., RRP $A22.99

9781408854969

 

Franklin, aka The Cloudspotter, is obsessed with clouds.  Big ones, squeaky ones, sneaky, pretend-they-can’t-see-you ones, even angry ones.  But Franklin is not a budding meteorologist.  He’s a dreamer who sees pictures and objects in the clouds and his imagination takes him up there to play in them.  It makes this friendless little boy feel less alone and be king of his domain. But one day Scruffy Dog comes along apparently looking for something.  Franklin is afraid it is after his clouds and no matter what he does, Scruffy Dog does not leave.  Soon it has become part of Franklin’s dreams which annoys him so much that he puts a plan into action that will get rid of Scruffy Dog forever.  Which is when he discovers…

This is a gentle and touching tale about a little boy who seeks refuge from the world in his imagination choosing to roam amongst the skyscapes rather than play with his friends – and he does have them even if he doesn’t realise it because they are the ones who have nicknamed him The Cloudspotter.  It’s about being happy being alone without being lonely, of seeking joy and solace in your own company until something happens that makes you realise that you can’t be totally on your own in this world. Can you really be isolated with an imagination as rich as Franklin’s? There’s no indication that Franklin is bullied or neglected or unhappy so that he has been driven to his solitary passion – who hasn’t stretched out on the grass on a summer’s day, looked at the clouds drifting overhead and let their mind wander to places far away?

When Scruffy Dog arrives Franklin is concerned that it will take away but the strong message is that friendship always adds – as people we are more when there are more, not less.

McLaughlin has captured an important lesson about the balance and need for both aloneness and friendship with simple text which says much and a light hand using a soft palette that underlines the beauty of the concept and the story. It is calming, almost ethereal and would be a great recommendation for pulling the curtains on the day.

 

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

Whatever the Weather We’re in This Together

Nov25
Whatever the Weather We're in This Together

Whatever the Weather We’re in This Together

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whatever the Weather We’re in This Together

Jessica Braithwaite & Rebecca Ralfe

Laura Bee

Albert Street, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A22.99

9781761182297

No matter what the seasons do, if skies turn grey or sparkle blue,
I love you now, I’ll love you forever …

Whatever the weather, we’re in this together.

Over 10 years ago, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, (an Australian government body so unlikely to be biased). “Anxiety disorders were the second most common disorders among all children (6.9%), and the most common among girls (6.1%).”  One can only surmise that the numbers and percentages have increased if the anecdotal evidence from teachers is relied on and indeed, more recent, equally reliable sources quote “Of children with a mental illness, half have a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder (2). The prevalence of anxiety disorders is 7% for children aged 4-11 years and is similar for adolescents aged 12-17 years. This equates to a total of 278,000 young people in Australia diagnosed with an anxiety disorder” -and even that refers to a study 10 years old and pre-COVID.

While books like this, which reassure the child of a parent’s unconditional love, are not necessarily going to “fix” the problem, nevertheless they do play a role in easing the child’s mind as it rolls through the various changes of weather as the seasons pass and the parents constantly declare their love.  

I love your smile when the sun shines bright,
when magpies sing in the morning light.
I love your hug when thunder rumbles,
clouds roll in and raindrops tumble.

But as well as its calming words and its warm-hug illustrations, there is also the physical comfort that can be gained through the parent and child bonding together as the story is shared in a special time between the two.  As it is written in the the first person, the child is going to hear a message written just for them, and they are likely to see themselves somewhere in the pictures which feature a variety of parents and children.  At the very least, both parent and child will have a feel-good moment together that might carry them through a tough time. 

 

Where Would You Go?

Nov5
Where Would You Go?

Where Would You Go?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where Would You Go?

Alison Lester & Jane Godwin

The children at Yalingbu Yirramboi – The Royal Children’s Hospital School

A & U Children’s, 2025

24pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9781761181573

If you could travel wherever you choose,
to worlds imagined and new,
where are the places that you’d like to go
and what in the world would you do?

Would you be like Bon and kick a ball into sports land where all the great games are played? Or meet Max in the world of stories , funny intriguing and clever?  Perhaps you would join Charlie in the ocean diving among the turtles and fish, or explore the jungle with Zara.  Or perhaps you would prefer to be in the land of treats, where everything tastes so good.  Where flowers are made of icecream, and trees are toffee, not wood!

This magical journey through the land of the imagination that takes the children  of The Royal Children’s Hospital to anywhere except where they currently are, celebrates the joys of daydreaming through the lyrical text of Jane Godwin and Alison Lester and the stunning, eye-catching, unmistakably children’s artwork.  Yet for all their dreaming, there is one place that all really want to be…

A peek inside....

A peek inside….

With each contributor’s name on its own cloud on the endpapers, so that there is a positive memory of their time spent in hospital, this is inspirational because it allows the children to be known for something other than their illness. As well, their dreams will encourage others to share theirs as the long summer break looms, and shows young readers that their artworks are valid creations, especially at an age when they start to notice works by adults and decide they will never be good enough, this is one of those heart-warming, life-affirming collaborations like The Silver Sea done with the children of Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne that make everyone feel good, particularly as all royalties will go to Yalingbu Yirramboi. 

Yalingbu Yirramboi – The Royal Children’s Hospital School keeps students connected to their regular school or kindergarten by bridging the gap between hospital, home and their education setting. Yalingbu Yirramboi ensures that children and young people who spend an extended period of time in the hospital stay on track with their learning and can achieve their full potential. Students receive individualised teaching and learning programs aligned with the Victorian Curriculum and VCE via flexible teaching modes, including classroom sessions, small group sessions and individual bedside support, depending on individual patient needs. The school also provides remote learning opportunities for students recovering at home but not yet well enough to attend school. When a child is well enough, Yalingbu Yirramboi supports students to transition back to their original school once they leave hospital.