Picture Book Spotlight: The Cloud Spinner

Picture Book Spotlight is an original weekly post that will highlight relevant and/or popular picture books and suggest age groups and storytime themes for them. It will also include a mini-review.

Title: The Cloud Spinner Authors: Michael Catchpool Pages:32 Audience: K-3 Themes: fantasy, nature, art,

Summary:                                                         
One small boy has a special gift—he can weave cloth from the clouds: gold in the early morning with the rising sun, white in the afternoon, and crimson in the evening. He spins just enough cloth for a warm scarf. But when the king sees the boy's magnificent cloth, he demands cloaks and gowns galore. "It would not be wise," the boy protests. "Your majesty does not need them!" But spin he must—and soon the world around him begins to change.

My Thoughts: What a charming picture book! The story follows a boy who can spin cloth from the clouds, but only makes as much as he needs and "not one stitch more". One day a king sees his amazing clothes and demands that the boy make him a full set of clothes from the clouds until there are none left. Then there is no rain and the kingdom suffers. The princess realizes the boy was right and brings the clouds back to him to be unwoven. I really liked the message of moderation and not using up your natural resources! The illustrations are colorful and soft looking (like clouds). A great choice for storytime!