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Summary
Summary
When Flora and her pesky little brother, Crispin, are whisked away by a swirling and swooping wind, she gets the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to give her brother away. With tempting offers from a dragonfly, the man in the moon, and even the wind itself, she will find it difficult to choose. But Flora would do anything to get rid of Crispin, wouldn't she?
Jeanne Birdsall's utterly charming picture book takes flight in Matt Phelan's twisting, twirling watercolors, brimming with wit and whimsy.
Author Notes
Jeanne Birdsall was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1951. Before becoming a children's author, she worked as a photographer. Some of her photographs are included in the permanent collections of museums, including the Smithsonian and the Philadelphia Art Museum. She didn't start writing until she was forty-one years old. Her first book, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, was published in 2005. Her novels about the Penderwick family have collected several honors, including the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. She also writes picture books for younger children.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-When 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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
After little brother Crispin spills Flora's paints, their frazzled mother sends them outside. When an unusually strong wind carries the pair away, Flora resists giving Crispin up to the various (personified) elements and creatures that want him. The sibling dynamic proves to be more tangled than expected in Birdsall's warm text. Phelan's expressive ink, watercolor, and pastel pictures softly illustrate the blustery adventure. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A little girl paints on a low table; her smaller brother reaches out and knocks paint and crayons all over. Flora screams, and her mom, at her laptop and looking stressed, tells her to take Crispin outside. It's very windy, so Flora puts on her "super-special heavy-duty red boots." Outside, Flora laughs at the wind, which cannot blow her away, but she informs it that her little brother has only regular boots. Before you know it, Crispin has been blown away, and Flora, alarmed now, sheds her fine red boots to follow him. Various creatures ask for Crispin, but Flora replies each time, "He's my brother and I'm taking him home"to which each responds, "If the wind lets you," setting up the climactic confrontation, which echoes Sendak and others while remaining true to this story. Phelan's illustrations are simply wonderful: His line floats and traces the air currents, his colors are subtle but strong and he captures Flora's multiple emotions and Crispin's silent toddlerness in every rosy-cheeked image. Emotionally true from cover to cover. (Picture book. 4-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*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 Flora's 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 story's 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.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
