The Fairview Review: A Cloud in a Jar Virtual Book Tour

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Cloud in a Jar

Written by Aaron Lewis Krol

Illustrated by Carlos Vélez Aguilera

Ages 4+ | 32 Pages

Publisher: Pages Street Kids | ISBN-13: 9781645679936

Publisher’s Book Summary: 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.

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon

Bookshop

Barnes and Noble

MY REVIEW

This nighttime adventure follows two friends as they make a trip over to Firelight Bay to bring the kids there a cloud in a jar. It is summer year round in the Bay and those kids have never known the pleasures of running through the rain or splashing in a puddle. Our narrator, his cat, and his friend Lou set out in a rowboat to remedy the situation. Rhyming text and vibrantly colored illustrations capture all the action as their small rowboat encounters a storm, they wash up on a beach next to a stranded whale, and solve one problem after another until they finally reach the Bay.

The silhouettes of sea turtles and fish beneath the sea that “shone as bright as a lamp” and the ingenious ways Lou uses everyday objects to create solutions are fun to see. But my favorite part of the illustrations is the cat. It has the most expressive feline face and body language and will have readers searching on every page for its reactions to each situation. They will see it yowling up at the storm, wrapping its paws around the boy’s waist as a throng of razorbills appear with their “skrackling, skreeling, cacophonous cry,” or sitting with a pleased grin as they safely reach shore. Be warned - once the story lands safely in the Bay, there could be shouts to start the journey all over again.

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. A Cloud in a Jar is his first picture book.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

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.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, October 2, 2023

The Children’s Book Review

A Cloud in a Jar Book Tour Kick-Off

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

The Fairview Review

Book Review of A Cloud in a Jar

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Life Is What It’s Called

Author Interview with Aaron Lewis Krol

Thursday, October 5, 2023

A Blue Box Full of Books