Many books do a stellar job at describing something in detail. Writers carefully choose each word, making sure that readers can envision the image that they have placed before them.
However, a book reaches an entirely new level when the words on the page and the pages within the book actually become the very thing that they are describing.
When the Wind Blows by Linda Booth Sweeney has a writing style that makes turning each page feel as if the wind itself is blowing the reader toward the end of the book. Uncommon for a children’s book, the story is written in verse and uses poetic language that describes how things throughout the city move as the wind blows. Conveying how each items moves in the wind only requires that Sweeney use a simple two-word sentence. By the ocean, “water ripples. Buckets tumble. Birds scurry. Castles crumble.” In the park, “strollers stroll. Kites glide. Bells clang. Puppies hide.” Further description of each item is not needed because paired together, one can imagine the setting and envision the images that Sweeney tries to create. The lyrical verse paints an image of how the wind’s movement has various effects, from sails and boats out at sea to swings and wheels at the park. As if the beautifully and carefully-selected words aren’t enough, Christy’s illustrations show items as they move with the wind. White lines fill the page, representing the wind’s every move.
Because there is not much complexity in language to describe the items as they move, I would recommend this book for any elementary-aged child. The story and its language are quite straightforward and don’t require higher-level cognitive processes to understand them while the organizational structure and poetic nature of the book can be explored among older children. This combination of structure and content make it a versatile book that children of all ages can read.