It Is the Wind

This is a simple, beautiful book. Lyrical poetic text is printed with the rhyming sound words (mostly onomatopoeia) set apart within the text with color. This is a good read aloud. The watercolor illustrations of an African American boy looking out his bedroom window have just the right amount of color and detail for that dreamy listening to the sounds of the night in the country feeling. They match the gentle rhythm of the text perfectly.

From the first page:
"What is the noise I hear,
in the night
that wakens me,
that shakens me,
the noise, I hear, in the dark
in the night?"

Related Books

• Hello, Day! by Anita Lobel. (Greenwillow, 2008 ISBN 9780060787660. Order Info.) Picture Book. Grades PreK-K.
  This is a good example of how a common concept, farm animals and the noises they make, can be rendered by a master using a simple style and yet result in something that transcends its simplicity. Rich paintings which both inspire and soothe accompany predictable text: 'The Cat said, 'Meow.'" A perfect match for the preschool set or a young beginning reader.

Related Areas Within Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Web Site

• Farms through Kids' Books: Our Featured Subject Literature-Based Classroom Unit with Books, Activities and Related Links.

Related Areas Elsewhere on the Internet

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• Ferida Wolff's website
  http://www.feridawolff.com

• James Ransome's website
  http://www.jamesransome.com