Supriya's Banter
Little Cloud’s Quest
Author: Stephen Aitken, Sylvia Sikundar
Illustrator: Joyita Banerjee
Age group: 3+ years.
Number of pages: 20
Publisher: Katha
Themes: Clouds, science, friendship, rains
Genre: picture book, fiction
Rating-3.5/5
A little cloud sets out on a quest across the sky to find friends. She tags along with the wind, whooshing and whirling, all eager to meet the new playmates. On her travels across the blue dome, she comes across light, wispy clouds that stretch for miles. She spots the lush, fluffy clouds as she rolls over the hills and jaunts across the vast expanse.
Some visitors in the welkin are pearly white, while others are grey and dusky.
Who are they? How did they come into being?
The little cloud is fascinated to meet them but does her sentiments get reciprocated?
Do these new mates include the little cloud in their fun and frolic?
As the little cloud reaches faraway lands, she discovers the pathway for her own joy.
The story bears a strong underlying message of not letting others’ expectations and opinions limit or define oneself. If you are patient and don’t lose hope, you are bound to find someone who loves you for who you are. Faults, flaws’ n all.
My little one shrieked with happiness when the same crowd who had spurned the little cloud envelope her, wanting to share her joy and contentment.
Aitken deftly spatters simple cloud facts in the story. The scientific nomenclature for different clouds makes way to the little ones’ vocabulary effortlessly. They will shout out the names—Cirrus, Cumulus, and Cumulonimbus next time you go cloud spotting. And just for that, you wouldn’t want to miss this one.
