Flora's Very Windy Day

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