Windy Days

Written by Deborah Kerbel

Illustrated by Miki Sato

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-217-2

24 pp.

Ages 2-5

October 2021

 

When a picture book, a two-dimensional source, can evoke weather such that the reader feels the bite of the wind or the slash of the briskness of leaves against skin, it's doing something terrific. I may be able to feel the wind by just stepping outside right now but I'd much rather experience it through the text and paper collage of Deborah Kerbel and Miki Sato's latest collaboration.

From Windy Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

In Pajama Press's Toddler Tough format of padded cover, rounded corners and thick pages, Windy Days explores children's experiences with the wind in the autumn, from fun fall fairs to Halloween outings. There are their encounters in the natural world with gentle breezes scattering milkweed seeds and tossing leaves, to creating energy with wind turbines and flying kites. Some of those winds are soft air movements while others are blasts of cold that practically toss little ones off their feet. Whatever their form, they're there, especially at this time of year, and reminding us of weather as our constant, bringing sound and movement and consequences.

Gusting wind: whoosh and whirl

Flags a-flutter, pinwheels twirl

From Windy Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

Weather is always with us–regardless of those unique days when the weather people  announce that we'll be having some weather today!–and it impacts our choices in clothing, activity, emotions and experiences. It makes us cautious and impetuous, eager and subdued. Weather makes us who we are when we're outside. The winds of fall are no different, impacting our play and our learning. They affect our emotions: fear from branches tapping on a window during a storm; annoyance for biting our cheeks and noses; and delighting us with the dances of airborne leaves and seeds. And then delivering the first snowflakes of the next season.

From Windy Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

I can't think of a better day to review Deborah Kerbel and Miki Sato's latest picture book collaboration than today, an incredible blustery day shortly after Halloween. Though little ones will be familiar with every scene depicted in the book, they will be especially aware of that Halloween scene as they sit inside their homes sorting their treats and listening to the winds outside. It's that familiarity of experiences that will endear Windy Days to our youngest readers. They know what it feels like to be inside listening to the wind against a window or outside bracing themselves as they trudge to daycare or school. They know what too little wind feels like but also too much. These are their experiences with wind. And Deborah Kerbel gives them the evocative words to go with those experiences. Roaring, whistling, howling give us the sounds but sweeping, biting, and tapping give us the movement. The wind is a living thing in Deborah Kerbel's words and an acquaintance that joins us for many of our fall days.

From Windy Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

Because of the texture of her cut-paper collages and her judicious use of lines to portray movement, Miki Sato takes readers outside to enjoy and endure the winds of fall. By adding a third dimension in her illustrations and using bold vibrant colours, Miki Sato gives these familiar childhood scenes character, inviting us to reminisce about our own experiences with the wind. By making the wind as real as the costumed child losing her witch's hat or the girl with the umbrella almost sailing off her feet, Miki Sato makes the wind the star of Windy Days.

It's never too early to introduce children to STEM concepts like the weather–there is an activity page appended to the story–and now in the fall when warm breezes are transforming into brisk winds and biting blasts of air will soon to be the norm, Windy Days will help young children see themselves in the weather of their own lives and reflect on the nuances of the wind in its impact on them.

🌬🌬🌬🌬🌬

Take in the weather with all the books in this series, including upcoming Rainy Days in the spring of 2022.

Snow Days (2020)

Sunny Days (2021)

Windy Days (2021)

Rainy Days (coming in 2022)

Sunny Days

Written by Deborah Kerbel

Illustrated by Miki Sato

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-197-7

24 pp.

Ages 2-5

June 2021

 

On the heels of Snow Days (2020) and just before Windy Days (due out in October), Deborah Kerbel and Miki Sato take little ones out into the sunshine to enjoy the weather and to rhyme their way through with solar brilliance.

From Sunny Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

From rubbing sleep from one's eyes to reading outdoors and planting seeds in the spring, children are escorted by the sun. Then with summer comes outdoor play in flower meadows, in the water and on a beach, and while taking sanctuary under an umbrella.

Prickly sun, burning heat

Cool shade and an icy treat

From Sunny Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

As the sun gets lower in the sky, the crickets come out and the shadows grow long, and finally sleep comes for both child and our brightest star.

Evening sun, cricket song

Shadows stretching tall and long

From Sunny Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

The rhymes may seem simple but there is a richness in Deborah Kerbel's take on what children experience in the sun. What's most important is what they feel, what they see, what they notice, and how it affects them. After all, Sunny Days is a book for our youngest children, connecting with them and their realities. There are the sensations of the blazing sun freckling the skin and the drying of mud. There is sunshine everywhere and anywhere, including an urban setting, a backyard, a beach or a park and Sunny Days shines on the lives of children's routines, joys and play. 

From Sunny Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

I've always loved textured illustration and Miki Sato's paper collages are becoming a favourite, doing more than just following Deborah Kerbel's words. The artwork gives us crumbly soil in which seeds are dropped, cooling water lapping onto sandy shores, and angry clouds having left puddles for mud pies. The quality of Miki Sato's artwork infuses Sunny Days with more than just warmth and light; it also gives a sense of place and pursuit.

My recommendation for enjoying Sunny Days? Get yourself and your young charge on a blanket on the grass or the sand, or on a bench in a park or in yard. Let the child hold the book which is in Pajama Press's Toddler Tough hardcover format (padded cover, rounded corners and thick paper) and read it aloud, asking questions and even doing the fun and easy science experiments on the final page of the book. Then read it again on a rainy day to remember what sunny days are like.  I suspect your child will start learning the rhymes and reading along with you soon enough and you might even encourage a new curiosity with weather or the solar system. Who knows what Sunny Days may bring?