The North Wind and the Sun
by Philip C Stead (Author)
She Persisted meets Be Kind in this reinterpretation of a classic fable, whose timeless message of perseverance and hope will encourage readers to stand up for themselves.
Who will win the war of trust-- the forceful, spiteful, cruel North Windor the gentle, patient, determined Sun? This thought-provoking, gorgeous story portrays the many different definitions of strength, as told through the powerful bond of three sisters. Together they face The North Wind, a mighty wintry gale bent on destroying the sisters' old patchwork coats with his harsh words and powerful blustering.
But these gray-haired sisters stand firm, bracing against the hateful Wind and his taunts, facing his negativity with practicality, resilience, grit, and gut. Their coats will not be blown off by force. It isn't until the Sun tries her own methods--generosity, warmth, and waiting--that the sisters make their own decision: it is time to remove their coats. It's the downfall of a bully, the downfall of aggression, the downfall of the Wind.
With beautiful collage artwork and author Philip Stead's characteristically nuanced storytelling, this retelling of The North Wind and the Sun demonstrates the importance of persistence, the power of standing up for what you believe in, and the triumph of love over hate.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
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Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Stead (The Sun Is Late and So Is the Farmer) retells the Aesop's fable of the title, introducing three sisters, portrayed with silver hair and brown skin, and each dressed in a red, yellow, or blue woolen coat. "Many times patched and many times mended over many long winters," the ragged garments delight the Sun and infuriate the North Wind, who resolves to blow them off. A fairy tale lilt distinguishes the narrative voice ("Castle walls were toppled, / and mighty ships were sent to the bottom of the sea"), while the sisters' agency and voices counterbalance the tension between the Sun and the North Wind. Understanding the source of the North Wind's violence, the sisters express "pity... for his loneliness... and for his wasted breath." Softly hued art--rendered in colored pencil and printmaking techniques--underscore the North Wind's rage by distorting his features, and trace the Sun's infinite goodness in her beaming face. To the original fable's lesson about kindness producing better results than force, Stead adds a sense of healing, as the sisters promise to weave the North Wind's cruelty "into something beautiful and new." Ages 4-8. Agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Jr./Folio Literary. (Oct.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV022000 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, & Fables | General
JUV029020 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Weather
Fables
