Some Days I'm the Wind

by Rebecca Gardyn Levington, Dinara Mirtalipova (Illustrator), Teresa Gallagher (Narrated by)

Overview

A calming reminder that you can feel a different way each day — and that’s ok!

And just like the wind, or the sun or the sea,
On some days I’m some ways, but all days, I’m me.

Some days you may feel like a cyclone, a whirl, dizzy, giddy, wild. Other days, you’re a whisper, a breeze, gentle mellow, mild. You’re not the same each day, and Some Days I’m the Wind is here to say that’s ok! In this calming poem, reassuring phrases encourage readers to meet themselves as they are and explore all sides of their emotions and personalities.
 

• Teaches kids there are no “good” or “bad” feelings. All feelings are feelings!
• A perfect companion read to Whatever Comes Tomorrow
• Endnotes provide further exercises to explore feelings through poetry and writing

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798888596623
Publisher:	Barefoot Books
Publication date:	09/09/2025
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 9.75(h) x 0.34(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Rebecca Gardyn Levington is a children’s book author, poet, and journalist with a particular penchant for penning both playful and poignant picture books and poems – primarily in rhyme. Rebecca’s award-winning poems and articles have appeared in numerous anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. She lives in the suburban jungles of New Jersey, USA, with her husband and two boisterous boys.

Dinara Mirtalipova is an award-winning folk artist with a passion for visual storytelling and an admiration for cultures and craftsmanship. Influenced by traditional folklore and classic fairytales, she prefers to draw and paint by hand in bright primary colors with traditional materials such as gouache. She currently divides her time between an Assistant Professor position at Cleveland Institute of Art and working on collaborations and commissions from her home studio in Northeast Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

★"By following one expressive girl through wonderfully evocative art, this story celebrates both imaginative play and openness to all kinds of emotions" – Booklist, starred review

"A lushly illustrated, imaginative ode to a child’s rich emotional landscape." – Kirkus Reviews

"Imaginative illustrations evoke the gamut of human emotions in this picture book about understanding and expressing feelings. Apt nature metaphors make the complex topic of emotions more digestible; children can borrow the language herein until they find their own words to express their feelings. The sun can be “welcoming, warm” or “stubborn, HOT! A raging, blazing glare.” The sea can be “cautious, quiet” or “fearless, fierce.” The dreamy watercolor illustrations depict both the broad landscape of emotions and the breadth of a child’s imagination" – Foreword

From the Publisher

2025-06-13
A child discovers that there are multiple ways to act, feel, and be.

In defiance of static definitions, the book’s young narrator explores a wide range of emotions through a series of natural metaphors: “Some days I’m the wind, / a cyclone, a whirl, / dizzy, giddy, wild. // Some days I’m the wind, / a whisper, a breeze, / gentle, mellow, mild.” Sometimes the child feels like a tree or the rain—experiences that are similarly varied; all are enthusiastically celebrated. Parallelism and satisfying rhyme lend Gardyn Levington’s rich verse a gentle rhythm, echoed in the playful placement of the text on each page. Mirtalipova’s bright gouache illustrations connect the child’s inner world with reality and reflect the youngster’s vivid imagination. On one spread, a laundry basket transforms into a ship on calm waters as the protagonist quietly looks out to an island made up of piles of laundry. On another, a rug becomes an undulating river, with the child raucously sliding down it. The text resolves with a final loving affirmation to readers: “And just like the wind, / or the sun, / or the sea / on some days / I’m some ways, / but all days // I’m me.” The child is brown-skinned with long dark hair. Backmatter includes information on emotions, with discussion questions and activities written by a child development specialist.

A lushly illustrated, imaginative ode to a child’s rich emotional landscape. (author’s and illustrator’s notes)(Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews