From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3—When the biggest cloud calls all of the others together in order to "terrify the earth with storm and thunder," Little Cloud wanders away to a quiet place in the sky. She enjoys her freedom and longs to engage with such earthly delights as flowers and ocean waves. Lady Wind observes her dreams and carries her off, past the pursuing thunderclouds, the lightning, and the dark mountains. In the morning, they arrive at a place where Little Cloud can see a rainbow, dew falling from her garments, and mist, and she happily declares, "Now I see. I can be me and part of something too." Young readers will empathize with Little Cloud's desire to be independent and free from what is expected of her, and they will feel her happiness at finding a place where she can realize her dreams with the help of a nurturing figure. But the oft-told story is tired, and even Qualls's whimsical depictions of a cherubic little girl with cloud hair and a Thelonius Monk-channeling storm cloud can't freshen it. The message of Aesop's "The Bundle of Sticks," that there is "strength in unity"—the fable that Morrison claims inspired this tale—is lost on young readers.—C. J. Connor, Campbell County Public Library, Cold Spring, KY
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Most of Little Cloud’s peers want to gang up and terrify the earth with storm and thunder, but she craves individuality, and so she drifts away from the group mentality. Freedom is satisfying, but Little Cloud also feels lonely, and she yearns to be a part of the earth, rather than just float above it. Lady Wind understands her feelings and blows in to take her far from the dangerous thunderclouds and over the mountains and oceans to a place where Little Cloud merges with the earth at last—as dew, rainbows, and mist. In the process, she realizes that it is possible to maintain both connection and individuality: to be me and all of the things I dreamed of. Qualls’ acrylic, collage, and pencil illustrations suit the story’s theme and changing moods wonderfully, anthropomorphizing the characters in a palette of blues, grays, purples, pinks, and oranges that is just right for the celestial dreams on the pages.Gentle and poetic, this tale will resonate with anyone who has been caught in the tempest of mean or unfriendly behavior, at a playground, school, or party. Grades 1-3. --Andrew Medlar
Review
The Morrisons present a modern fable about the need for independence as well as the beauty of being a part of everything else. Little Cloud discovers "I can be me and part of something too."--Yellow Brick Road, May/June 2010
About the Author
Toni Morrison (1931–2019) was a Nobel Prize–winning American author, editor, and professor. Her contributions to the modern canon are numerous. Some of her acclaimed titles include: The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988. She won the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Slade Morrison was born in Ohio and educated in New York City. He studied art at SUNY Purchase and collaborated with his mother, Toni Morrison, on their books for children.
Sean Qualls’s work is a mixed media combination of painting, drawing, and collage. He has illustrated many picture books, including Before John Was a Jazz Giant, which received a Coretta Scott King Honor Award; The Poet Slave of Cuba,a BCCB Blue Ribbon Book; Dizzy,an ALA Notable Book and a Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and Child Magazine best book, as well as BCCB Blue Ribbon Book and a Booklist Editor’s Choice; and Emmanuel’s Dream, which was a Schneider Award winner and an Amazon Best Book of the Month. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
