In the Wind

The duo behind In the Garden and other board books begins a weather-themed series about an unnamed girl with dark brown skin and curly hair that, in this book, is being tossed every which way by the wind. The story focuses on the girl’s kite-flying excursion in the park, which starts out well but takes a turn: “Kite tail catches/ on a tree./ Yank the string./ Kite breaks free!” Spurr’s rhymes pare down the story to just the essentials, giving Oliphant room to draw out the story’s emotional moments in watercolors that also emphasize the wind’s sheer tree-bending force. Ages 1–3. (Mar.)