A Voice in the Storm
Age 3+
Picture Storybooks
Rat's friend Jackdaw is worried – Rat hasn't been herself lately. It seems like she is somewhere else ... somewhere sad. Rat wishes she could tell Jackdaw what's been troubling her, but she doesn't have the words.
So, instead, she runs out by herself just as a storm starts rolling in. Lost, alone and frightened in the belly of the storm, at her lowest moment Rat meets an unexpected friend who teaches her to listen to the storm – screaming its loneliness and singing its sadness – and helps her to find her own voice.
A moving, cathartic and sensitive exploration of depression, from the creator of Circles in the Sky.
Creators
Karl James Mountford has created cover artwork and illustrations for many successful fiction titles such as The Uncommoners by Jennifer Bell, Taylor and Rose Secret Agents by Katherine Woodfine and The Peculiars by Kieran Larwood. He has also worked on picture books including Maurice the Unbeastly by Amy Dixon and The Curious Case of the Missing Mammoth by Ellie Hattie. Karl lives in Wales. You can find him on Instagram as @karljamesmountford and on Twitter as @karlj_mountford.
Reviews
Children grappling with depression and other intense emotions will feel seen—and held. Mountford couples the heaviness of the story alongside lavender, green, and blue geometric digital art, filled with beauty and coupled with care. . . . Vital storytelling.
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Mountford contemplates two serious, related skills in this compassionate book of counsel: recognizing one’s distress, and talking about it with another.
Publishers Weekly
A beautiful tale.
Bookliist
Highly recommended; this is a compassionate look at how to support a friend overwhelmed by emotions.
School Library Journal
Mountford captures the inexpressibility of emotions when one is small. In this forest fable, Rat panics when her friend Jackdaw sees that she is sad and runs off into the woods just as a huge storm moves in. Rat nearly comes to harm, but then encounters Bear, who offers company while they wait out the thunder. As Bear helps her talk about her fears, Rat gains the courage to tell her friends about her scary feelings.
Los Angeles Times
