Cloud Dance

In a series of paintings all depicting the same piece of land in rural New York, artist Thomas Locker invites young readers to look at the sky, and particularly the clouds, through the seasons, at different times of the day, and during different types of weather. In every painting, the sky takes up at least half (and usually more) of the canvas. Children will notice the same woman and child. Often they’re walking around some part of the path that circles the lake in the centre of the acreage. When the season and weather permit, they’re out in a rowboat on the lake, and once we see them completing a snowman in the glowering winter dusk.

This is a book that encourages children’s observational skills. There is only minimal text, but show more it provides some guidance about what to look for. (I do feel this aspect of the book could have been a little stronger.) Because the human figures are small, it’s probably best to read this work with a very small group or a single child.

The book concludes with a discussion of different kinds of clouds, how they’re formed, and where they are found in the troposphere (the layer of the atmosphere nearest the Earth that extends five to ten miles up). Some easy (art and writing) activities are also suggested.

This is a lovely book, and I can imagine that sharing it with a child would be a special meditative experience.It indirectly addresses the changeability and transience of natural phenomena. show less

Ages 3-8. Gorgeous illustrations combined with informative text provide a great introduction of clouds to young children. The soothing pictures and gentle prose make for a great cuddle up book to read with your children.

With simple poetic prose and brilliant illustrations, the reader will journey across the heavens through thick cumulus clouds, wispy cirrus clouds, and wide stratus clouds as they dance through every season of the year.

As the description of the book states, "Look up. Clouds rise and fall, race and drift!" And, the author richly, beautifully displays images of the fact that no two clouds are the same. This is awe inspiring and beautiful, and I highly recommend Cloud Dance.

In this book "Cloud Dance", celebrates clouds as they appear during the different hours of the day and seasons of the year. Many of them show a small child walking with an adult on a path. An informative section at the book's end, entitled "About Clouds," links the beauty to the science. With Locker's immediate stylistic connection to the Hudson River painters, Cloud Dance becomes a successful blend of fiction, science, and art.

This book shows the patterns of clouds and I was able to pick up a very calming and melancholy atmosphere when reading this book which would be a good way to ease the nerves and emotions of escalated children.

This book tells no story but instead shows and describes all of the beautiful ways clouds dance in the sky. Each page give a very short verse about what the clouds are up to along with breathtaking images of the sky. The words themselves give great examples of descriptive imagery in a easy way for students to understand. Overall I think this would be a very relaxing book for any young student to read.