‘Adventures on the Breeze’ by Kristen Iten, illustrated by David Overholt, is perfect for young children as well as adults. Not only does it take readers on a journey through a cloud’s busy day trying to offer shade to those around it, but it supplies adults with an abundance of creative verb choices – such as “wisped,” “puffed,” “flurried,” and even “prickled” for a cactus – that describe the actions that stimulate the cloud’s adventures throughout the day.

Having read this story with my 2-year-old son, the language was well-constructed to make for an easy, yet intelligent read. The images were adorable, lending further focus to the story through the colorful illustrations.

The story teaches how, despite someone’s (in this case a cloud’s) best intentions, not everyone will be thrilled with what someone or something might be trying to do to offer help. Readers will empathize with the cloud as it struggles with understanding why it isn’t welcome to share its shade with anyone or anything that crosses its path. Between the concepts of empathy, sharing, and merely trying to make sense of the world around it, the cloud finds its own happiness as the story goes on, just as it wishes its shade to provide happiness for others.

My only suggestion would be for the illustrations to be a bit more developed throughout the half of the story that only used clouds as images on those pages. Even though the cloud’s expressions changed from page to page, more illustrations of where the cloud was carried, as described in the story, including above treetops, meadows, roads, houses, etc. before reaching unknown lands, would have made for an even richer storytelling than the book already contained.

All in all, a creative and adorable read that teaches lessons that any child can learn from, any parent can identify with, and all readers can appreciate.

You can find ‘Adventures on the Breeze’ by Kristen Iten here: http://amzn.to/1P6hTYW