Gorgeous, ethereal artwork. This is one of the main reasons I read picture books. There is an opportunity for both or either story or art to capture the feel of the message. Here, I loved the art first and most.

A cute imaginative take on a child flying on a bird to be amoungst the clouds. We learn about different kinds of cloud and the precipitation they release; all while enjoying the beautiful, simple artwork of illustrator and writer Elly McKay.

Canadian, McKay, does a great job of creating a book without too many words for a great bedtime story length. It’s soft pastel like colours are soothing and even when it gets a bit dark, in the stork we are comforted. An excellent purchase for any child; while it stars a little girl, I see no reason why that should matter and find this appropriate for all genders, religions, races, and backgrounds.

The best page might be at the end of the story. Kids have written in questions about clouds and McKay answers them in very simple, yet scientific, terms. Additionally if you (or your child) want to learn more about clouds McKay includes a short bibliography to get you started.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

In the Clouds is the story of a little girl who joins a bird to explore different types of clouds as well as their purpose, with beautiful, soft illustrations and some additional facts about clouds in the back.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

Unfortunately, this book annoyed me. However, I have a feeling the book annoys me for the same reason this book would be perfect for kids. The questions are born out of curiosity, and it's a never-ending curiosity. I think kids might enjoy having new questions to think about if anything.

Phenomenal artwork and really cute story.

I'd like to thank the publisher Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A bored little girl sits gazing out her window, talking to a bird on the ledge about how clouds ruin everything (not sure why she feels that way, but I chalk it up to the bored-grumpies). She starts to daydream, and soon she is riding on the bird's back (because one can do that in a daydream), pondering the clouds as they fly through, above, and below them, wondering such things as do clouds remember the dinosaurs? When she returns from her daydream, her feelings have changed, and she decides clouds are wondrous after all!
The story is dreamy and sweet, and the illustrations are, as always, beautiful and filled with a sense of magic. The story is followed by some interesting cloud facts - the average cumulus cloud weighs as much as 100 elephants! - and an illustration showing different types of clouds with their names. Very sweet!

#NetGalley

Get swept away in a daydream in this tale about imagination. With gorgeous illustrations, Mackay's book will suck you in and make you feel like you are exploring the world around you with the main character.

A story about embracing inquisitive minds and nurturing curiosity, this book is perfect for families and classrooms. It is about a young girl who asks the birds questions about the world and the weather. She is curious about the clouds, where they come from and how they are made. Her questions range from scientific to existential and capture the questioning mind of a child.

Additionally, this book would be the perfect fit for educational settings. Use it for a unit on clouds or weather. It includes terminology like cumulus as well as questions and answers about how clouds form. At the end there are pages of information about the questions in the book as well as about weather and clouds.

Perfect for science loving kids and adults.

In the Clouds by Elly Mackay is a beautiful children's book for anyone who enjoys daydreaming. The illustrations blew me away and transported me literally onto the page. I felt so immersed in this world and felt like I was being swept away by the clouds just like the little girl in the story.

It was imaginative and mesmerizing, and II enjoyed the friendship between the little girl and the bird. The relationships we can have with nature and animals are a beautiful and rewarding gift and In the Clouds captures that.

I appreciate the questions asked throughout the story, which gets young readers thinking and has a wonderful introduction to science and the questions starting with, "how? "why?" "when?" "what?" It was fantastic that the story included the answers to many of the questions asked within the book.

My students would love this story, and I cannot wait to have this book as part of my classroom! I would definitely recommend this book for all children, especially the kindergarten-4th grade age range.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

In the Clouds is a book about a curious little girl who wants to know more about the world around her. Perfect for a teacher introducing inquiry and question formulation, or families of inquisitive children always asking why, this book models questions and the idea that questions lead to more questions. Additionally, this book lends well to a study of clouds or weather, from terminology like cumulus as well as questions (and answers) about how clouds form, I could see this book being an introduction to science units across the grade levels. The story ends with a few pages of information about the questions in the book as well as about weather and clouds, but I also feel this type of book would spark curiosity in students and encourage them to go beyond these questions and answers to create their own questions and search for the answers through the inquiry process. While this book is probably best fit for grades 1-4 I could see using this with older and younger students as weather is part of many middle years science curriculums and preschool children love to ask why to everything around them!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book! I look forward to purchasing a copy for my grade 3 classroom library!

I was a serious daydreamer when I was young [actually, I still am!] and it often got me in trouble. I am also pretty sure that my Mom would have loved it if I had asked the birds all the questions I had rather than her, but that's a whole 'nother topic! LOL

The first thing you will notice about this lovely picture book is just how gorgeously it is illustrated. The colors and pictures just blew me away - the author really draws it so it feels like you are right there with the little girl and the bird, among the clouds! Then there is the story - who hasn't been bored on a rainy day and wished to fly above the clouds, especially on the back of a wonderful little bird and who hasn't wondered about clouds and just what they were about [my sister and I, when we were little, loved to pretend that we could both sleep on clouds, and when we were in the car, make food from them - playing pretend is so much fun!]. Even I, as an adult, learned things about clouds [there is a lovely little fact sheet at the end] that I didn't know!!

Children will love this book, both for the fun story, the idea that daydreaming is a good and wonderful things and for the the captivating illustrations. I wish I had littles so I could buy this and read it over and over with them.

Thank you to NetGalley, Elly MacKay, and Penguin Random House Canada/Tundra Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book 8-year-old me would have loved so so much! 42-year-old me loves it as much too. Well, Elly MacKay's illustrations are gorgeous as ever, and the simplicity of the narrative is very true of a child's curious nature.

The back matter answers some of the questions posed in the story, in a way that young kids can understand.

I am fascinated by the sky and the clouds specifically and I am so glad this book exists!

<em>Thanks to Netgalley and Tundra/Penguin Random House for the advanced reader copy.</em>

"In the Clouds” is an ode to a child’s imagination and curiosity.
A little girl is stuck indoors on a rainy day, with the help of a beautiful bird, she takes the readers along with her on a journey to learn all about the wondrous clouds.

Filled with questions, the text encourages young readers to think.
“Why does something so huge feel like nothing at all?”
“How do clouds carry the rain?”
“Do you think clouds have memories?”

The pages are filled with interesting facts and ethereal drawings. The illustrations, also done by the author, are soft and dreamlike. I enjoyed the expressions on the young girl's face as she took in the beauty of nature.

At the end of the book, there are answers and more interesting facts about clouds.
“In the Clouds” is a beautiful read that celebrates the dreamer in every child.

In the Clouds is a beautiful book with paper-cut illustrations that glow with light, movement, and, of course, all types of clouds. On a rainy day, a bored little girl asks a bird to take her on a ride to see if the sun shines above the clouds. As they fly, she asks dozens of questions about clouds, such as "How do clouds carry the rain" and are clouds and earth connected - and are we connected, too? She sees shapes in the clouds, and she wonders about many scientific phenomena . At one point, she passes through thunder and lightning and almost falls off. An adept navigator, the bird lands her safely at home, where they share a treat. The final two pages feature her questions and brief answers as well as illustrations of the main cloud types. This is a quiet, lovely book that will be popular with daydreamers, nature lovers, and those who enjoy awe-inspiring panoramas.

Another lovely picture book for children!

It’s cloudy. A little girl is bored, stuck inside and looking out the window. Then a bird lands on the frane and takes her up high above the clouds on a fantastic journey.

The illustrations are photographs of ink and paper dioramas and they were stunning, this type of art made me want to pick up other books by this Canadian author and illustrator and I definitely will in the future!

Also, I really liked that at the end there are the answers to the questions the little girl was asking the bird, such as: can birds fly above the clouds? or how do clouds float?
And I did learn things I did not know. Did you know bacteria could live on clouds? I did not!

And let’s not forget the classification of clouds, of course! I don’t think I’ll remember all the names but now I know my favorites are the cumulonimbus and the altocumulus!

Free Netgalley book for review. That was adorable! :-) The artwork is lovely as well. I painted clouds for what felt like a whole year for my senior art exhibition before graduating so they'll always have a soft place in my heart. This takes a more fantastical approach to clouds, but the end has some cool science-y bits as well distilled into smaller chunks for the curious reader.

Anyway this is a beautiful book well worth reading.

We received this early copy for review. I think this one of those books that would benefit from being seen in person. The illustrations are beautiful and expansive, often taking up more than one page.

I have two very inquisitive daughters so the fact that this is a book made up almost entirely of questions is very relatable.

Beautiful book, would make a lovely gift

This is essentially a book of questions, highlighted by charming illustrations of a little girl as she imagines being taken through and beyond the clouds by a bird.

The pictures are absolutely lovely, with luminous backgrounds and paper-and-ink characters that seem to transcend the scene as well as be part of it. I don't think I've encountered Elly MacKay's work before, but it's intriguing and pleasant to look at; I'd love to see some of her other books.

While I was reading, I was a bit concerned that the book was going to be all questions and no answers. But there is a cute little page at the end in which many of the questions are answered. There's also an informative graphic that shows the various types of clouds.

Highly recommended for the illustrations alone. But also check this one out for the imagination aspect as well as the info about clouds.

In the Clouds is a beautifully illustrated picture book about a girl who befriends a bird, who takes her on a flight above the clouds. Like most children, the girl finds clouds to be mysterious and asks question after question. The book concludes with some facts and educational information about clouds.

I loved this book so so much. As an adult, I learned a lot. Fascinating beautiful wonderful facts about clouds. And the art in this book, the beautiful depictions of clouds that look almost real. Real and fantasy at the same time. There is so much about this book to love and I think that kids who are just slightly older and have a little bit more of an attention span would find this book so fascinating. I wish so badly that I had known about this book when I was a Pre-K teacher. I think they would love to learn what is in this book and help it see clouds, which in my experience kids already love, in a new and exciting way. I would give this book more than five stars if I could.

Thank you #netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to see this beautiful book in exchange for an honest review.

Review 4.5
The children’s picture book “In the Clouds” by Elly Mackay was such a cute book to read. The illustrations were beautiful and really brought life to the story. This is a cute story about a girl trapped inside due to rainy day clouds in the sky. That is until she hops on the back of a bird and the bird takes her up to the clouds. Throughout the book the girl has fun questioning everything. Almost every page is her asking a question while the bird takes her on an adventure.

This book is great for kids because they can relate to the questions the girl is asking. The cutest thing was that the author answered all of these questions in a kid’s journal type format at the end! I was not expecting that so it instantly made me smile! This is perfect because then parents don’t have to worry about not knowing the answers. If I had a kid and they asked me some of those questions I would have grabbed my phone to google it. Luckily, that isn’t needed! This also means that kids can read this book on their own and understand the questions on their own.

Does this book have an overall storyline or plot? No, but in my opinion children’s books don’t always need one. As long as the book is enjoyable and leads to questioning and thinking then they're fine. The writing was well done, it flowed from page to page and even had some cute rhymes. I will definitely recommend this book for my children’s storytime because I can already picture kids doing cute cloud activities that go along with this story. Overall, I thought this was a cute picture book that kids will enjoy. A book about a girl who loves questioning the world which is something I hope all kids enjoy.

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **