I’m posting from New York City for the second time this month. Fingers crossed that I see fewer of the featured subjects of today’s Perfect Picture Book during this visit, and that any I see are fluffy and fleeting.
Title: Partly Cloudy
Written & Illustrated By: Deborah Freedman
Publisher/Date: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House/2024
Suitable for Ages: 4-8+
Themes/Topics: clouds, science, nature, art, perspective
Opening:
What do you see when you look at clouds??
Ooh, that cloud looks like cotton candy.
Brief Synopsis: Two rabbits view clouds differently – one as a scientist and the other as an artist.
Links to Resources:
- Check out the Lessons and Activity Pages on Freedman’s website;
- The eight pages of Back Matter include Author’s Note; How Clouds Form; The Ten Main Types of Clouds; The Earth’s Water Cycle; Selected Resources for Kids; and Selected Bibliography;
- On a partly cloudy day, grab a friend, a pet, a picnic or whatever you’d like, go outside, and look up to find clouds (but please don’t look directly at the 🌞).
Why I Like this Book:
I love when I read a new picture book and it triggers happy memories. In this case, I remembered my mother pointing out creatures in the clouds to me and, later, to my children. Like the creative rabbit in Partly Cloudy, my mother focused on the arts, not the science, of clouds. Perhaps some of you remember caregivers and/or teachers who focused on the science of clouds.
After reading this delightful all-dialogue book with fact-filled side comments and back matter, I think kids and their caregivers will appreciate both aspects of clouds, the artistic, imagine-the-creatures side and the scientific facts. They’ll better understand why both are important. And they’ll love Freedman’s pastel watercolor illustrations.
Whether read at home, at the library, or in a classroom, kids and their adults will find plenty to ponder in this gorgeous new picture book.
A Note about Craft:
With its dreamy, cloud-filled illustrations and all-dialogue text, Partly Cloudy is a wonderful read-aloud to share with younger children. By including both back matter and side comments, Freedman and the editors at Viking increase the age span and market, making this a wonderful book to share with older children, including in classrooms. Interestingly, Partly Cloudy is 40 pages long including eight pages of back matter. Note how Freedman and the editors at Viking include dialogue on the front and back endpapers – a creative use of every page that presumably enabled them to devote more space to back matter.
This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!
Wander, Ponder, Write 