Dark Cloud Strong Breeze

Patron, Susan

ISBN 10: 0531086658 ISBN 13: 9780531086650

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1994

Synopsis

Daddy has locked his keys in the car, his daughter is off to the locksmith, rain is on the way, and a dog, a grocer, a cat, and a butterfly are all drawn into the problem of the keys.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

An insistently rhythmic rhyme and Catalanotto's splendid paintings describe what happens on a rainy day in a small town when a girl's father locks his keys in the car. As the father tries to jimmy the door with a coat hanger, his daughter makes friends with nearby shopkeepers and animals: "Dark cloud brisk breeze / 'Hey, Mister Locksmith, will you help us, please?' / 'Yes,' says Locksmith, clicka-me clong / 'If you get me a guard, both brave and strong.' " The made-up, onomatopoeic phrases in Patron's ( Burgoo Stew ) bouncy couplets become a bit cloying; the book demands, somewhat too forcefully, to be read aloud. Overlaid on each black-and-white spread of the street activities is a full-color closeup that zooms in on the girl's endeavors to help, which result in the participation of dog, grocer, cat and butterfly. Despite Catalanotto's ( Mr. Mumble ) unique design, the sequential connections in the verse do not always make clear the connections between the plot and the disparate characters. The ending comes full circle as the pair returns home: the father has lost his house key, but the girl, mercifully, supplies her own. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

``Dark cloud strong breeze/Inside the car Daddy's locked his keys,'' begins this fanciful story of a mishap that balloons into an eventful sequence. The locksmith will help if he has a guard for his shop; a stray dog will guard it in exchange for shelter; a grocer needs a cat to catch mice; etc. (It's not clear until later that the grocer will provide boxes for the dog's shelter.) The car is finally unlocked and the rains fall; but unfortunately, the idea hasn't been developed with either Patron's or Catalanotto's usual skill. The mixture of fantasy and ordinary neighborhood reality is uneasy; onomatopoeic words like ``smasha-me smit'' or ``swisha-me swhy'' seem contrived; and though Catalanotto's watercolors--color insets of the action superimposed on the larger street scene in grisaille--are nicely observed in detail, they are also cluttered and confusing. All in all, coming from an author and an illustrator with a number of fine books to their separate credit, a disappointment. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0531086658
• ISBN 13: 9780531086650
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Illustrator: Catalanotto Peter