| Title | : | High in the Clouds |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0525477330 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780525477334 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 96 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2005 |
High in the Clouds Reviews
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The best contemporary children's book that I've read for a long while. The story has everything a pre-school boy or girl will enjoy: mission, adventure, friends met along the way, hurdles that make success almost impossible, success despite all odds and big celebration in the end. For the parents who are supposed to read this book to their kids, the underlying theme is the destruction of the environment resulting to the displacement of the animals in the forests.
Good book. Good theme. However, that's not the reason why I bought and read this book. PAUL MCCARTNEY WROTE THIS BOOK! Yes, Sir Paul McCartney (born June 18, 1942) co-wrote this, his first, in collaboration with animator together with Geoff Dunbar and Eddie Dickens trilogy bestseller author, Philip Ardagh. McCartney says to have a lifelong interest in children's storytelling that grew out of his childhood love of classic Disney.
This tells the story of a boy squirrel Wirral whose mother dies when the tree she is sitting on is cut by land developers. The mother squirrel is the official storyteller at Woodland that is being abolished in the name of progress and development. While dying, the mother tells her son Wirral to escape to Animalia where all animals can roam freely and far from the destructive habits of human beings. However, on his way to that promised land he meets all the wicked and good characters and they provide all the hurdles and assistance to the poor newly-orphaned boy squirrel.
McCartney is one of the artists who work hard on the protection of the environment
The illustrations are superb: colorful, funky and lovable-looking characters. The layout on each pages is very intricately done, i.e., the ratio between the picture and the texts will not bore your kids who are fond of looking at big expressive pictures. The plot is not thin and definitely not pretentious. There are enough dialogues to make your reading-aloud nighttime sessions with your kid memorable.
I liked the story so much that I read this twice. I hope Disney turn this 2005-published book into a movie. -
High on but Short
(Thoughts on High in the Clouds
by Paul McCartney, Geoff Dunbar, and Philip Ardagh)
***Blogger’s Note: SPOILERS BE WITHIN!***
It’s no surprise that, time and again, some celebrities and personalities are turning to writing and of the plethora of genres to write for some of them turn to Children’s Books. While some may challenge and ask the question that can celebrities write a really good storybook, we’re still in some good company with the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Whoopi Glodberg, and Julie Andrews whose works have made it onto the New York Times bestseller list for children’s books.
In 2005 Sir Paul McCartney joined this bunch with the release of his first children’s book High in the Clouds co-authored with Geoff Dunbar and Philip Ardagh. This environmental fable concerns Wirral, a young squirrel driven out of his well-preserved forest home by bulldozers into the grimy, sprawling city of Megatropolis where he learned of animals forced into labor by the cruel Gretch with the help of her whip-wielding, right-hand man — or rat — Wrackford. He goes to a quest to find Animalia, a paradise where animals roam free and live in harmony far from the imposing clutches of evil enslavement where Wirral finds himself on a larger undertaking to liberate animals far and wide.
High in the Clouds overall is a funny tale that will somehow delight young audiences. Although I did enjoy Geoff Dunbar’s peaceful nature imagery some of the animal drawings feel to some extent stiff, glossed over with skilled computer rendering and coloring. I don’t know if this is just his style (since this is the first time I encountered his work) though to be honest some of the illustrations do strike me like those storyboards use for pitching in animation movies and indeed I read reports here and there that during sometime this picture book was slated to be an animated film but somewhat plans either stalled or never came to fruition.
The narrator seems playful at first but as it goes along it suffered from a breathless narrative that rambled on and on resulting in a story with characters that tend towards the generic — with a typical love angle to boot. It’s just about telling a story with as little imagination and feeling as possible. I’m no writer just a simple reader who wears that cap with a child’s point of view in mind and I wonder how can this story with a young reader's short attention span can sustain his/her interest long enough to slog this book through?
My main beef though was near its ending when the inhabitants of the island of Animalia defend their home against the invading nasty Gretch. Wirral, our supposed protagonist does NOTHING during the height of the fight. Wearing my child cap again I imagine as I set out to read his tale that he will be a bigger character by its end, learning life lessons any mother deprived squirrel of his kind will realize and discover, more so as he sees it as his task that he must protect this Utopian island from Grecth’s grubby hands. Whether the exposition on this part was overlooked by the writers or not it pretty much looks to me that Wirral was relegated in the sidelines — giving no account of what he did at all! — offering the chance for Froggy to shine, the supposed side kick of Wirral that aside from doing his part defending the island is also the one who saved Wilhalmina (our supposed protagonist’s love interest) from capture. By golly, this should have been Froggy’s tale after all since the title of the book, for the most part, equally relates to him given that he owns a hot air balloon and that he’s always out there, “high in the clouds”. Wirral, to put it bluntly, is one lousy squirrel.
With laudable themes such as putting a stop to unrestrained global capitalism, pollution and the destruction of the environment as effected by over population, and that sweatshop and forced labor work is a bad, bad, thing, High in the Clouds has potential only it’s short in delivery.
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Book Details: Book #35 for 2011
Published by Dutton Children’s Book
(Hardcover, 2005 US First Edition)
96 pages
Read on: September 11, 2011
My Rating: ★★
[See this review on my book blog
Dark Chest of Wonders and for many others.] -
Ooo, I feel badly for reviewing this book this way, but... I really wasn't that impressed with High in the Clouds. I thought it was full of oversimplifications, that the characters weren't well developed, and things happened in the book because it was convenient for them to happen. From the start, I was put off - for example, Wirral's mother is killed when the bulldozers destroy the Woodland. However, amidst the mayhem and carnage, Wirral is able to get his father's old raft, put his mother on it, and then decorate it with piles of flowers? And even as this is going on, the forest is still being destroyed, with branches falling around him and others begging him to leave? Not only is the story muddled, but the artwork doesn't represent this at all.
I felt that the personalities of the characters were very much stereotyped. While the narrative has some fun asides, they often seemed to leave children out of the loop. It seems that no one settled on a particular writing style for the entire story. I really wish that more detail and revision had been put into this story - lots of the characters are very interesting, but we learn so little about them. For example, what are some of the 101 reasons that Alfredo the flea hates Gretsch? Why does Froggo have a wooden leg? And why on earth would the animals leave their children with Gretsch as a babysitter?
I really did want to enjoy this book, but I felt that it was incomplete. -
I bought this book after seeing it in a bargain bin and seeing that it was from Paul McCartney. I'm up for anything from the Beatles, but I have to say, this book wasn't all that fantastic. I don't have any kids, but I wonder how a kid would react to it? There are certainly a lot of words that would be impressive for a child to know at the age of 6 or 7 (incarcerate? serendipity? fortuitous?). Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that the kids are challenged, but if every other word is something that needs explaining, the story gets lost.
As for the story itself, it was ok. It's got the lesson that we shouldn't destroy the forests because it'll hurt the animals, slave labor and pollution is bad, and I guess they might as well just say sprawling metropolises are also bad. Animals are good, whether they are big or small.
It's a bit generic, there are not very many illustrations in comparison to text (though the illustrations have a lovely quality about them), but hey, if kids like it, that's what's more important. -
In this story, Wirral the squirrel sets off to find Animalia, a tropical animal sanctuary. Wirral knows of this because of his mother. His mother has died. When bulldozers begin mowing down the Woodland she was crushed to death. Before she dies, she requests that he finds this island. On his journey he finds Megatropolis which is a loud and polluted city. Here he sees animals that are imprisoned in factories. While he is there he learns of a plot to destroy Animalia. Wirral and his two friends Froggo and Wilhamina find the island leads the animals of the Woodland and Megatropolis to a happy life. The cartoon illustrations are great to look at. This book will interest students who are ready to read lengthier books.
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I am going through some bargain books that we picked up from the library and couldn't find a review on this on Common Sense Media. It was brief, so I just decided to read it myself. Just over 80 pages with large pictures throughout, I spent 30 minutes or so on it.
I had read many of the reviews and wondered how fair people were being to the authors. In large part, I agree with what has been said regarding the leanings of this book. Humanity is bad. Animals are most important. It is plain to see that not much is thought out in regards to how the poor are to truly be cared for. It seems that the utopia itself will suffice in supplying the everyday needs. This kind of thing helps me to understand why our kids and grandkids think that things are just going to fall out of the sky for them.
The storytelling alone is not enough to counter the blatant cultural philosophies that are presented. It is just not well written. Things are missing throughout the story that you really would want answers to. The whole timings of the story lend to inability to even imagine a reality that could exist.
All in all, this book will not go in our library at our school. The only possible excellent thing about it is the illustrations, and those are found in many other books. -
Some animals try to find freedom.
This was an odd book - good illustrations, but the story was a bit weak.
Reading time around thirty minutes. -
Wiórek mieszka wraz z mamą, Białą Kitą w Zielonym Lesie. Pewnego dnia buldożery niszczą ich dom a mama nakazuje synkowi odnaleźć Animalię - wyspę, gdzie wszystkie zwierzęta są wolne i szczęśliwe. Wiórek rozpoczyna podróż od najbliższego miasta, Megatropolii i odkrywa, że istnieje tam sieć fabryk należących do małpy Grety, w których pracują zwierzęta-niewolnicy. Greta dowiaduje się o Wi��rku i jego poszukiwaniach Animalii - chce zniszczyć wyspę, by zniszczyć jedyną nadzieję zwierząt. Słabszym zwierzakom udaje się odeprzeć atak i wszystko kończy się szczęśliwie.
Bajka Paula McCartneya jest przerysowana i wysłodzona, nie ratuje jej nawet czas powstania - 1988. Akcja opisywana jest skrótowo, źli bohaterowie doczekują się rehabilitacji (tego się można spodziewać po poprawnych bajkach czasów nam współczesnych) a dobrzy zwyciężają na przekór rozumowi, na fali pochwały bohaterstwa uciśnionych. -
Sorry, Paul. I love you, but High in the Clouds is just awful. Let's put aside the blatant agenda (humans=bad/animals=good; rich=bad/poor=victim; industry=bad; military=bad, etc. etc.). Even if you agree with this simplistic world view, this story just isn't good. There's too much going on, too many poorly developed characters, too many unsuccessful attempts at humor. At 86 pages, the story is too long to be a picture book, but probably not interesting enough to hold an older child's attention. If you want to brainwash your kids, stick with Ferngully, Pocahontas or The Gnats of Knotty Pine, which all share the same ideology but are far superior to High in the Clouds.
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The idea if the story was a good one and I appreciated the real life story telling but there was way too much going on in the story and very little character development. It was hard to tell if the story was written for preschoolers because of the concept of naming some animals things like "Froggo" the frog and "Caw Caw" the parrot or 5th graders because of the over abundance of information to keep track of as well some words like "incarcerated". It's good to challenge but just seemed overwhelming without enough detailed descriptions and information to connect to a character.
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Maybe it's the painkillers (fractured ankle!), but this story didn't make any sense. Certainly cute, and I am inclined to like anything by a Beatle, this story just didn't work for me. I must also admit that I struggle with anything that kills off a parent in the first chapter. And then the child is over it by the next. Grrr.... stupid literary trend.....
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Found this in the bargain books at wally-world, since it's a Paul McCartney, I *had* to pick it up. It really is a nice story, though I think it requires at least a 6-year-old's attention span to get from start to finish.
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I'm reading this for the 2nd time, now for my 8 yo daughter.
I just love this book <3
One of those which can be read over and over again :)
A beautiful book!
I've read it out loud for my son and he liked it. -
This story is really different, however our kids love it, it took couple of night to read it, our small boy didn't want anything else. The story is full of adventure, characters are interesting and funny for kids, even I enjoyed reading this book. The right book for small boys :)
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This is an awesome book its cute, and funny. It's by PAUL MCARTNEY! I learned with a little help you can conquer some BIG evil.
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This is a fine book, but it lacked some of the humor that I've come to associate with Philip Ardagh's writing (but he's the third listed author, so maybe that's the reason).
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Really liked it because it is illustrated nicely and abundantly throughout the book and it is long without losing my four year old's interest.
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cute story if a little long for Tahvak currently.
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You can judge a man's true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.
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It's pretty adorable but kind of long for a children's book.
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Lupsakka eläinsatu käsittelee metsien tuhoa, kaupunkielämän vaaroja, orjuutta/pakkotyötä ja eläinten oikeuksia vapaaseen elämään ja hyvinvointiin. Happy End.
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I only read this because if the author. I liked the idea of the story, but I could't really get into it
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SUMMARY: This is the story of Wirral the Squirrel. Wirral grew up in a beautiful forest, but he lost his home and family to deforestation. Wirral is saved by Froggo who pilots a hot air balloon. He sets out in search of the island he’s heard stories of: Animalia. Along the way, he becomes friends with a girl squirrel, named Wilhamina. Will the 2 of them find Animalia, and can they escape the evil clutches of corporate boss, Whacko? Read High in the Clouds to find out.
EVALUATION: I really like this book. It addresses global issues in kid friendly way. In the beginning, it addresses deforestation when Wirral’s home is destroyed by bulldozers and chainsaws. Then, it addresses the dangers of global corporation and the corruptness of many big businesses, including terrible working conditions and unfair pay.
TEACHING POINT: I would use this book to teach students about characters. This book has a lot of well-developed characters that have unique personalities, so there are plenty to talk about. We would talk about protagonists and antagonists and identify the character traits of each. -
Recently found this book and after seeing it was a collaboration piece including Paul McCartney I decided it would be worth a try.
This is a fabulous story that I would highly recommend to all children up to teens. Even as an adult I found it very enjoyable and couldn’t put it down. I thought at first it was going to be a typical children’s book but the details in the drawings, the story elements and the take away far exceeded my expectation. I also liked a that it wasn’t 20 pages or less. This has over 90 pages of visuals and life lessons. -
The master of writing great songs falls flat on the writing of this book. The writing is stinted and laboured with no charm, joy of fun in the story.
Although the illustrator has many awards to his name I didn't find the illustrations very impressive.
A hard read all in, Maybe I was just expecting too much.
Sorry Paul.
