When the Wind Blew

by Alison Jackson, Doris Barrette (Illustrator)

Overview

We all know the story of the old woman who lived in a shoe with her many children. But not everyone knows about the day when the wind blew very hard, and an unexpected guest arrived (cradle and all), setting off a chain of events that involves the three little kittens, Jack and Jill, Little Bo Peep, Little Boy Blue, and many other beloved nursery characters. Can the old woman restore order to their world and still manage to get her children to bed on time? But, of course!
 
This is a follow-up to Alison Jackson's strong-selling If the Shoe Fits, told with the same whimsy and charm.
 
A Christy Ottaviano Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466864146
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	03/18/2014
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	65 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Alison Jackson was inspired to write this companion to If the Shoe Fits after a strong gust of wind mysteriously deposited a blanket in her backyard. Ms. Jackson is the award-winning author of many picture books and novels including I Know an Old Lady who Swallowed a Pie and Eggs Over Evie. She lives in Salinas, California.
 
Doris Barrette has illustrated thirty-five books, including Thanks for Thanksgiving. Like the old woman in When the Wind Blew, Doris loves taking care of children and has a deep sense of well-being when she is with people she loves. She lives in a small village in Québec, Canada, where she enjoys being close to nature and her big family.

Editorial Reviews

01/13/2014
Extreme weather isn’t limited to the real world—it hits the country of nursery rhymes, too, as a gale breaks a famous bough and deposits a rock-a-bye baby on an equally famous shoe. “The woman and children who lived in the shoe/ Were nestled inside, but they knew what to do.” They set off to return the baby, discovering missing mittens (and some guilty kittens), a pail, a misplaced sheep that belongs to a girl named Mary... and that’s just the beginning. Barrette (Never Ask a Bear) sets the story in a fairytale European village with tiled roofs, a castle, and rolling hills; she captures the storm’s force with swirling skirts, waving branches, and flying coins. As in 2001’s If the Shoe Fits, Jackson puts nursery world elements together like a crossword puzzle, assembling smart rhymes (“The coins had been swept from the king’s counting room,/ And the woman surmised he’d be missing them soon”) and clever scenarios, although a moral about acquisitiveness (“From kitten to king, they examined the cost/ Of constantly grasping at things that are lost”) has a tacked-on feeling. Ages 4–7. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

This companion to If the Shoe Fits (Holt, 2001) provides pleasant reunion with old favorites.” —School Library Journal

“Jackson puts nursery world elements together like a crossword puzzle, assembling smart rhymes and clever scenarios...” —Publishers Weekly

“Jackson's deft touch for humor carries the audience's interest through the story.” —School Library Journal on If the Shoe Fits

“An exciting world through which the miniature family journeys at a brisk pace perfect for energetic toddlers and preschoolers.” —Booklist on If the Shoe Fits

“Young ones who have mastered their nursery rhymes will get a hoot out of Jackson's gentle humor.” —Publishers Weekly on If the Shoe Fits

“An appealing book with an authentic voice, particularly when discussing the upheaval and discomfort caused by divorce, as well as the effort and good will required to smooth the transition.” —School Library Journal, starred review on Eggs Over Evie

“Evie tells her story with a pinch of humor and a dash of vulnerability, sifting together the people in her life and blending them into a surprising new family . . . Sweet and savory.” —Kirkus Reviews on Eggs Over Evie

“Relationships are at the heart of this appealing, illustrated chapter book.” —Booklist on Eggs Over Evie

“Evie's narration is emotionally perceptive without being sappy, and the emphasis on roles and relationships yields solid character development that serves to move the story forward. Each chapter is followed by a recipe, and the cooking frame adds organization and appeal to the story.” —BCCB, recommended, on Eggs Over Evie

From the Publisher

03/01/2014
PreS-Gr 1—Rollicking watercolor portraits of round characters chronicle nursery rhyme mishaps caused by an extended gust. The old woman of the shoe (a pink Victorian boot) and her many children restore treasures like rock-a-bye baby, Mary's lamb, and Jack's candlestick to their rightful places. The rhymed text reminds readers of each origin story and uses rich vocabulary such as "lament," "instrument," and "seize." This companion to If the Shoe Fits (Holt, 2001) provides pleasant reunion with old favorites.—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

School Library Journal

2014-01-15
A follow-up to If the Shoe Fits (illustrated by Karla Firehammer, 2001) finds the old woman—not so old but cheery and buxom—and her many children solving a few dilemmas for other nursery rhyme denizens. The footwear that is their home is quite a fancy shoe, with a lamp affixed to the end of its curled tip. The opening spread sets up the entire story with its panoramic view of shoe, tree with "cradle and all," fields, town, castle and hill with well atop. The wind rocks the cradle so wildly that the wee tot is tumbled out onto the shoe, to be gently caught by the children, who try right away to put baby and cradle back. The tree from which it fell is now festooned with mittens, and the children soon find the desolate, mittenless kittens. As they go along, they find Mary's lamb, Bo Peep's crook, Jack's candlestick, and Jack and Jill's pail (among other items) and eventually restore them to their rightful places. It is all told in verse rhymed with grace—verve, even—and illustrated with soft, ballooning figures. The many children of the shoe have round heads and button features, and each is clad in the garb of various and sundry nations and ethnicities. Perspectives swoop and change with the rhythm. There is a moral about "examin[ing] the cost / Of constantly grasping for things that are lost," but it doesn't much get in the way. Children who know the nursery rhymes will enjoy seeing them in a new context, and children who do not can enjoy the rollicking action anyway. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews