A young girl is troubled by an annoyingly persistent cloud.
One blustery day, the wind blows a cloud over Tansy’s head, and it can’t be dislodged, despite her family and friends’ best efforts. The cloud grows so big that it begins to rain, drenching Tansy. Her father gives her a raincoat and umbrella, her teacher points a fan in her direction, and best friend Rue joins her under the umbrella to play in the puddles—all of which helps “a little,” Tansy allows. Realizing that gardens like rain, Tansy proposes planting one; soon, she’s walking her cloud around every day to water the seeds. New flowers sprout, and the returning wind blows a hole in the cloud, just the right size for a sunbeam to peek through. In an author’s note, Krossing explains that her story is intended for anyone grappling with “challenges beyond their control” and adds that she drew inspiration from her own experiences with mental illness. Readers will be heartened that though Tansy’s support network does all that they can to help her cope, ultimately, she makes her own bright spot, largely through self-acceptance. Krossing imparts valuable messages to youngsters struggling with their own issues and to those that love them. Leung’s illustrations have a textured coarseness, making effective use of perspective and relying on slightly over-the-top visuals. Tansy is brown-skinned; other characters vary in skin tone.
A heartwarming and convincing tale for kids seeking to ride out life’s rainclouds.
—Kirkus Reviews
The wind blows a cloud right over Tansy’s head. Stuck there, it blocks the sun. Tansy tries to get rid of the cloud. She asks the wind to blow it away again; she bikes fast; she asks her dad to pull it. The stubborn cloud remains. At school, even her teacher notices, and her friend Rue asks her why she has a pet cloud. Tansy insists the cloud is a pest. The cloud gets bigger and darker, and it starts to rain. Tansy becomes so distraught that she announces she hates clouds. She even begins to forget what sunshine feels like. Offering their help in ways they can, Tansy’s dad gives her an umbrella, a raincoat, and rainboots, and her teacher points a fan in her direction. These tools help Tansy cope and feel a bit of sunshine. On the playground, Rue joins Tansy under her umbrella, and they realize that the cloud could be put to good use watering a garden! When the flowers bloom, Tansy figures her cloud isn’t such a pest. When the wind comes back, it doesn’t blow the cloud completely away or stop the rain completely, but it does blow a hole in it—a hole just enough for a sunbeam, which brings a rainbow too. The final page has an author’s note discussing how some problems cannot be solved, including the challenges of mental illness, but that there are ways to lighten the darkness. While an important message and well-intended, the inclusion of this closing page as written is likely to be too heavy for the book’s intended audience; however, it may give caregivers a starting point for discussing the book’s core message together.
—Children's Literature
