Cloudland (Dragonfly Books) [Paperback]

John Burningham (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 1999 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Dragonfly Books

Illustrated in full color. Only John Burningham--four-time winner of a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year award and twice the recipient of Britain's prestigious Kate Greenaway Award--could have created this subtle and magical fantasy about the dreams of childhood. While hiking in the mountains with his parents, Albert tumbles off a cliff--but is saved by the cloud children who utter magic words that make him very light and keep him from falling. Albert has a wonderful time jumping, swimming, painting, and racing in the sky with the cloud children (he even walks along the jet stream of an airplane!)...until he remembers his mother and father and his own little bed at home. It takes the cloud queen, the man in the moon, and a few more magic words to return Albert to earth. Glorious mixed-media illustrations leap from the oversize pages of this delightful new book by "one of the finest and most original writers at work today" (The New Yorker).  A Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection.  

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Something terrible has happened! While hiking in the mountains with his parents, Albert trips and falls off a cliff. Luckily, the children who live in the clouds are able to say some magic words (was it "Gargle giggle fiddle num dee" or "Teetum waggle bari se nee"?) that make Albert light enough for them to catch. Soon he and the cloud children are having a grand old time painting pictures with colors from the rainbow, playing jumping games in the clouds, and skinny-dipping through the rainy sky. Albert is delighted with his wonderful new skyscape and playmates... and yet one day he begins to feel the pangs of homesickness. With Cloudland, award-winning author and illustrator John Burningham creates one of his most unusual and imaginative tales. Stunning collages use enhanced photos and colored drawings, providing more than just a backdrop to this charming story. Readers young and old will lose themselves in the mesmerizing depth of the illustrations. If Burningham's head, like Albert's, is always in the clouds, that's exactly where he should stay. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

It's hardly a new theme: by accident (literally), a child finds himself in a new world-in this case, a land in the clouds, populated by playful cloud children-where each day offers yet another fantastic experience; eventually, however, the child yearns for the familiarity of home and family, and enlists his new friends in helping him return. In the hands of the incomparable Burningham (Hey! Get Off Our Train; Aldo), this familiar story takes on new depth and poignancy while never losing the giddy appeal of adventure. The lean, trenchant text approximates the simple forcefulness of childhood speech. But the book's real power lies in the stop-them-in-their-tracks illustrations. Cut-outs of Burningham's signature line-drawn figures are set against backgrounds that are photographic, painted or a combination of the two; the resulting compositions feel at once both ethereal and cozily handmade. This is a stunning book-whether the reader takes Cloudland at its considerable face value, or is able to ponder its underlying meanings of death, afterlife and rebirth. It promises to resonate with readers of all ages. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Dragonfly Books (August 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517885891
• ISBN-13: 978-0517885895
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,723,104 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another brilliant book from Burningham, July 20, 2000

By 

Jennifer Matesa - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cloudland (Dragonfly Books) (Paperback)

We have the British edition of this book--Burningham is British--and it is one of my 2-year-old son's favorites; and last week, when I saw my 2-year-old niece, she wanted me to read it to her three times in two hours. At first I thought perhaps they might be scared by the idea of Albert falling off the cliff on his hike with his parents, but they weren't because the next thing you know, he meets all kinds of new friends. The story is an original and unsentimental way to help kids figure out not only that "there's no place like home," but also that you can appreciate other places while you're away from home, and that you can always find company and be taken care of. This is great for families who travel a lot. And of course Burningham's illustrations are amazing. In this book, he does something different from his others--he uses photographs as the basis for some of the pictures, adding his amazing interpretations. And he never talks down to kids or plays to sappiness or sentimentality. If you don't have MR. GUMPY'S OUTING and MR. GUMPY'S MOTORCAR, I'd recommend those as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful pictures., June 22, 2008

By 

deb APGMT "teacher and student" (Sarasota, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cloudland (Hardcover)

I love the illustrations in this book. I use it when I teach my Yoga kids classes. It is also great for primary elementary classes when studying clouds.