Weather Together (Not Quite Narwhal and Friends)

WEATHER TOGETHER is a sweet picture book about feeling sad and friendship. Nimbus and Kelp are best friends and love spending time together. Mostly, it is sunshine and rainbows, but sometimes, Nimbus feels cloudy. She has a cloud that seems to follow her everywhere, and though she tries to ignore it, push it away, or bottle it up, it seems to just keep growing and growing - until something that seems small like dropping her ice cream makes it get out of control. Knowing that everyone saw, Nimbus flees and then does something tough. She talks to her cloud and begins to understand it. So when Kelp finds her, she introduces him to her cloud and talks to her friend about how she is feeling. Now, she understands that while sometimes they will be all sunshine and rainbows, sometimes she will feel cloudy, and that is OK too.

This was such a sweet book about dealing with emotions and the power of sharing our feelings with friends. The metaphor will be one that children can understand if they are ready or just see it as weather if they are not. For young readers who may have their own cloudy days, Nimbus's story will really resonate, as they can understand the feeling of being cloudy and not quite feeling the same way everyone else seems to. The book gives some basic helpful tips in embracing and confronting the cloud/emotions as well as how talking about it to others, such as friends, can be helpful. Caregivers can take this further as needed to explain additional context.

The illustrations are absolutely stunning throughout, really capturing all the emotions and moods of the animals, particularly Nimbus and Kelp. The pages turn quite quickly with minimal text on each page, making this great for little ones who appreciate a quicker pace. Even though the pace is fast, the images are very detailed and the story itself is complete. It's really a lovely read that children will enjoy exploring, and the images aid in the telling throughout. This could work for a range of ages, to help children understand emotions, moods, and the power of friendship.

Overall, WEATHER TOGETHER is a sweet picture book that features beloved characters in a new heart-warming story of friendship and feelings.