A Cloud in a Jar

by Aaron Lewis Krol, Carlos Velez Aguilera (Illustrator)

Overview

It’s just after midnight on Walton Wharf West, but there’s no time for sleeping—adventure awaits! Get dressed, grab your oars, let’s not delay. Lou Dozens is here, and we’re sailing to Firelight Bay!

In this modern, young, bold, and inventive adventure, Lou drags her more cautious friend on a daring voyage across the sea. Though their destination is a glorious land of year-round summers, long slides, and picnics a hundred yards wide, the children there have never seen rain, even once.

The mission is simple: bring Firelight Bay a cloud in a jar. But the journey is anything but. Readers will delight in the story’s twists, turns, and unexpected solutions—from a sail of patchwork handkerchiefs to a net crafted from recycled cell phone chargers that saves a beached whale. It’ll take every knick knack in Lou’s pockets and all the cleverness the pair can muster to safely deliver their gift.

With captivating illustrations and whimsical yet delightfully intricate rhyming text reminiscent of classic children’s poetry, this seafaring quest is one young readers will not soon forget.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645679936
Publisher:	Page Street Publishing
Publication date:	10/03/2023
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Aaron Lewis Krol lives with his family in Lowell, Massachusetts, where he writes about climate change science and solutions for the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative. Like many, his early education included many “invention challenges” where students were tasked with building structures from everyday materials, and he’s pretty sure that’s where the idea for Lou Dozens came from. This is his first picture book.

Carlos Vélez Aguilera lived in the oceanside town of Puerto Vallarta for a time and drew from his memory of those beautiful landscapes and the sense of adventure they gave him while illustrating this book. He also poured in his general love of clouds, the sea, and whales. In addition to drawing, Carlos also likes to dance. He lives in Mexico City, Mexico, with his cat, Benito.

Editorial Reviews

"A Cloud in the Jar has everything: clever narration, a straightforward message about bravery and determination, and brilliant artwork [...] a true delight to read out loud."

—BookPage, starred review

"Rollicking verses, packed with bold action verbs [...] echo rocking-boat rhythms. Vivid mixed-media illustrations feature blue shades, suiting the watery, nighttime settings. Ahoy, mateys! Poetic, sea-going fun."

—Kirkus Reviews

"Engrossing [...] [with] immersive, vibrantly detailed illustrations, containing whimsical scenes, rushing motions, and saturated color [...] this fanciful tale offers much to engage and entertain."

—Booklist

"[A] fantastical tale [...] The deep blues and purples of night give way to dawn's frosted pink as Lou Dozens and her best friend encounter gale-force winds, a beached whale, and a furious flock of razorbills on their magical expedition."

—Foreword Reviews

From the Publisher

2023-08-12
A rousing nautical adventure.

Brown-skinned Lou and her nameless, pale-skinned friend—the book’s narrator—head out in a rowboat for Firelight Bay, where kids have never seen rain. To demonstrate the joys of water—rainbows, puddles—the pair are bringing along a “cloud in a jar.” A gale arises. Lou says, “This is a job—for a SAIL,” and fashions one from handkerchiefs pulled from her sleeve. The storm-damaged boat whips through the waves, landing on a shore where a beached whale lies. Announcing, “This is a job—for a NET,” Lou devises one from phone chargers extracted from her coat. Slipping into this contraption, the whale speeds the kids onward, but a swarm of razorbills threatens. Lou’s pal intones, “This is a job—for a CLOUD.” Releasing it from the jar, the narrator scatters the birds, but the whole crew tumbles underwater. As they emerge on Firelight Bay, Lou’s companion believes they’ve failed now that the cloud is gone. But as it turns out, they’ve found a way to bring rain to the people. This imaginative, sea shanty–like tale is narrated in quatrains, employing the ABBA rhyme scheme, each one concluding with a couplet with the rhyme scheme BA; these rollicking verses, packed with bold action verbs, mostly scan well and echo rocking-boat rhythms. Vivid mixed-media illustrations feature blue shades, suiting the watery, nighttime settings. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Ahoy, mateys! Poetic, sea-going fun. (Picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews