When the Wind Came

In this timely, poetic story of hope amid loss, acclaimed writer and storyteller Jan Andrews’s touching picture book reminds us how, even on the darkest days, light can always be found.

It’s a normal day, at first, for a girl on her family farm. But soon, the wind picks up. It blows harder and harder and harder. Her mother grabs her baby brother. Her father opens the door to the root cellar. The family piles in and sits in darkness. When they are finally able to emerge, their home is gone. Through a series of short sentences, many beginning with “I remember ... ,” readers share with the girl her experience of shock, terror, sadness and, finally, hope.

Acclaimed, award-winning children’s author and storyteller Jan Andrews’s last-ever picture book contains a beautiful and grace-filled story of resilience. Using a child’s point of view and the perspective of remembering, Andrews’s expressive writing provides comfort as it portrays the way joy and laughter can be found in even the worst times. Dorothy Leung uses fluid lines to convey the energy and the emotional arc of the story as her images move quickly from ordinary to extraordinary. With so many natural and human-caused disasters affecting children every day, this deceptively simple book offers a gentle discussion-starter as it captures a universal experience through one specific story.