This is the Wind, Roaring Brook Press (2008)
From School Library Journal
... the lush, dreamy illustrations in rich, deep hues bring a great deal of loveliness to the story. Opening and closing with the image of a mother rocking her baby, the book is tied together with a wind that blows through the open window and whips around each spread, both dividing and highlighting phrases and images, until it dies down peacefully where it started. The pictures also show a parallel story as a mother mouse moves in and has a litter of babies. Mothers might enjoy sharing this attractive book with young children. PreS-Gr 1
From Kirkus Reviews
In a “House That Jack Built” format, a gentle verse takes a mother and father to the hospital for the birth of their child and, in a parallel tale, a mouse in from the wind for the birth of her own babies. As the mouse arranges a tiny bed and dresser into a home for herself, the humans drive the icy road to the hospital. In the end, both mothers sit rocking with their children in the now-calm darkness, telling them of that windy night when they were born. Reichert’s brilliantly colored pastel illustrations convey a sense of movement as the wind blows throughout, curvilinear design unifying the individual vignettes of human and mouse stories, abetted by text placement that loops about the page. Facial expressions and body language speak volumes... Ages 3-7
... the lush, dreamy illustrations in rich, deep hues bring a great deal of loveliness to the story. Opening and closing with the image of a mother rocking her baby, the book is tied together with a wind that blows through the open window and whips around each spread, both dividing and highlighting phrases and images, until it dies down peacefully where it started. The pictures also show a parallel story as a mother mouse moves in and has a litter of babies. Mothers might enjoy sharing this attractive book with young children. PreS-Gr 1
From Kirkus Reviews
In a “House That Jack Built” format, a gentle verse takes a mother and father to the hospital for the birth of their child and, in a parallel tale, a mouse in from the wind for the birth of her own babies. As the mouse arranges a tiny bed and dresser into a home for herself, the humans drive the icy road to the hospital. In the end, both mothers sit rocking with their children in the now-calm darkness, telling them of that windy night when they were born. Reichert’s brilliantly colored pastel illustrations convey a sense of movement as the wind blows throughout, curvilinear design unifying the individual vignettes of human and mouse stories, abetted by text placement that loops about the page. Facial expressions and body language speak volumes... Ages 3-7