The Blustery Day by Caroline L Thornton is an imaginative and highly memorable children’s picture book with beautiful, atmospheric illustrations (courtesy of Alena Karabach) to match. The story is a simple one: an umbrella gets caught in a gust of wind and travels across numerous towns, miraculously helping a number of creatures and people as it goes.

It begins with a little girl, our narrator, losing grip of the red brolly in the street: ‘My red umbrella blew, so quickly from my hand. For many miles it flew, Before it fell to land.’ Thornton immediately hurls us into the action in this well-executed rhyming book while assuring us of a lovely, even rhyming pattern that, frankly, many indie children’s books lack, aiding the flow of the story as the umbrella inevitably flies from one incident to the next.

First it lands in a well, allowing a stranded toad to hop on and catch a free flight across the town to safety (what an image!). The brolly then goes on to help a shivering gnome that’s lost its way, a scarecrow that’s struggling to protect crops from birds, a rescue dog looking for a home, and finally some kids in a small boat, caught in the storm. After a string of good deeds, the umbrella begins its journey home, back to its owner: “The wind direction changed, And turned the brolly round. As though it were arranged, To send it homeward bound.”

With beautiful painted illustrations that capture the gusty action perfectly, The Blustery Day is a magical and striking picture book that will blow you away!

For children aged 5–8.

Published by Caroline L Thornton.

Buy the book here.

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