Flora's Very Windy Day

July 12, 2010
Birdsall's (The Penderwicks) crisp and delightful first picture book shares the virtues of her successful middle-grade novels: believable characters, a tightly constructed story line, and a nod to past children's literature—here, to the no-nonsense magic of the Edwardians. Big sister Flora must kick off her cherished "super-special heavy-duty red boots" to be borne aloft so she can rescue her brother, Crispin, when the wind blows him away. They meet a cloud, a sparrow, and other characters, all of whom make the same request: "Will you give me that little boy?" Although Crispin has spilled Flora's paints, and the creatures seem to know that she sometimes wishes to be rid of him, the encounters only strengthen Flora's resolve to bring Crispin home. "My mother wouldn't like it if I lost him," she says. Phelan's (The Storm in the Barn) rosy-cheeked Flora and dumplinglike Crispin float idyllically all the way to the moon. Yet the story contains the occasional whiff of menace ("If the wind lets you," each creature replies when Flora says she'll be taking him home). Never mind—the danger is no match for Flora. Ages 5–8.

July 1, 2010
K-Gr 2—-hen Flora's younger brother spills her paints, their mother orders them both outside even though the autumn wind is strong and might blow them away. Luckily Flora wears her "super-special, heavy-duty red boots," but Crispin's purple boots are ordinary. When the triple-strength wind lifts him up into the air, Flora kicks off her boots and sails up in the sky to retrieve him. A dragonfly, a sparrow, a rainbow, an eagle, and a cloud all ask to keep Crispin, but she says, "He's my brother and I'm taking him home." Each one replies with the cryptic phrase, "If the wind lets you." The lonely man in the moon and the wind also ask for the child, but Flora is determined. Accepting her change of heart, the wind blows them down to earth. Birdsall's first picture book is a flight of fancy reconciling a sister to her innocently irritating little brother. Phelan uses ink, watercolor, and pastels for their airy adventure, tossing and tumbling them through a series of encounters that reveal Flora's changing feelings. This gem of a book will resonate with older siblings everywhere.—"Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2010
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* Furious when her little brother Crispin spills her paints again, Flora complains to their mother, who sends both children outdoors. A strong wind threatens to blow them away, but Floras boots keep her on the ground. When the wind begins to lift Crispin, Flora sees his frightened face, doffs her boots, grabs his hand, and rises into the sky with him. Floating along on the wind, they encounter a dragonfly, a sparrow, a rainbow, a cloud, an eagle, and the man in the moon. Each one offers to take the toddler off her hands, but Flora finds herself reluctant to let Crispin go. As realistic as the mixed feelings it captures and as fanciful as a conversation with a rainbow, the first picture book by Birdsall, author of The Penderwicks (2005), blends homely and fantastic elements as naturally as a child at play. The storys sense and wit are most fully expressed in the text, but the characters actions and emotions are most memorably portrayed in the artwork. The creator of The Storm in the Barn (2009), Phelan uses washes of sky blue and autumn hues to set off expressive drawings that can be melt-your-heart beguiling. A fine picture book with a fierce, bold, and (deep down) compassionate heroine.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)