Horn Book Review
(Preschool) A little girl's magical umbrella has the power to reverse the weather under it in this wordless exercise in whimsy. When the pig-tailed heroine looks out the window at a snow-covered landscape, her response is predictable, but her attire is not. Out she ventures in flippers and bathing suit, flopping prints in the snow. But up the ""un-brella"" goes, and, beneath its protection, the sun shines down, melting the snow. Likewise, when spring comes, out she goes in her parka and boots and puts up the un-brella to call down a tiny localized blizzard. The digital illustrations strive for a three-dimensional effect, flat planes and bold colors creating crisp lines arranged in layers on the page. The technique is at its most effective in the long views, as a ribbon of green winds its way through the snow, indicating the path of the girl and her un-brella; similarly, a winding path of snow dotted with green footprints follows the girl and her blizzard through the spring landscape. Images of the girl frolicking with penguins in a pool of water surrounded by ice and building a snowman in her bedroom under the un-brella will delight every kid who's ever wanted instant weather-gratification. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
When a little girl decides the weather isn't to her fancy, an "un-brella" helps to magically change one season to another. In the midst of a wintry scene, this Dora the Explorer look-alike with large, round blue eyes and pigtails and wearing a swimsuit and flippers, opens her un-brella to create a summery luscious green and daisy-covered path through the frigid white snow-blanketed landscape, replacing falling lacy snowflakes with the warm glow of the sun. Similarly, her un-brella will undo the summer's heat with an icy or snowy trail she creates dressed in her winter coat and skates. Imaginatively reversing seasons may be the way to cope on severely cold or hot days, and this wordless story succeeds in demonstrating a bit of intrigue and originality. Franson offers plenty of details in his geometric and multi-dimensional style collage of seasonal scenes made with foam or textured paper cut-outs in pale hues of blues, lavenders, greens, yellows and white. The open-ended conclusion will spark some think-aloud moments. What will the little girl do when the rainy sprinkles descend on a spring night? One can imagine an auburn-colored autumn pathway of falling leaves. A visual diversion. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
