The Turnaround Wind

by Arnold Lobel

The reader turns the book upside down to see what happens when a fierce wind blows through a country town one afternoon, affecting many different people and animals out enjoying the summer air.

Publishers Weekly
Thirty characters venture out on a hot summer day when suddenly "dark and ominous clouds" appear in the sky. A turnabout wind seems "to turn the whole world around and around and upside down," and the story turns into a series of clever optical illusionsdouble pictures that can be viewed right side up or upside down. The shifty-eyed face of a thief, turned upside down, becomes a wailing baby dressed in blue. An organ grinder is transformed into a parrot. The illustrations are complicated enough for repeated readings, and the wind-blown characters are eccentrically droll. One lady's cape, green and billowy as a cabbage leaf, is changed into another lady's wind-blown umbrella. The plump king turns into the queen who is definitely "not amused at the weather." Then, just as suddenly as it began, the wind stops. Undaunted by chaos, the cheerful characters dust themselves off and walk "serenely in the sunshine of a lovely afternoon." Ages 4-8.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Library Binding

First published August 4, 1988

About the author

Arnold Stark Lobel was a popular American author of children's books. Among his most popular books are those of the Frog and Toad series, and Mouse Soup, which won the Garden State Children's Book Award from the New Jersey Library Association.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really clever concept. Both my 8 and 5 year olds enjoyed figuring out the illustrations listening to me read this. I could do without thenmention of adult characters enjoying being pressed up against others by the wind (my wording--the author is more subtle ;-) but it seemed to go over my kids' heads.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing story by Lobel about an entire town's characters. He introduces all of them and then changes the weather to bring in some drama. At this point, every character gets their own page with text and illustration. To see them all, readers will have to flip the book to read that text and see how the illustration changes based on viewpoint.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, turn the book around and around.

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Open Library.

[Millie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever and creative.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read after seeing the description in a book about the author.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "turnaround" of the book's title is literal: the reader reads the description of each character, then turns the book around (upside down) and views an entirely new character and part of story. Hence, this is all about Arnold Lobel's wit and illustrative brilliance. Sometimes I had to pull back from the illustration to see it better and recognize in the painting the face of another character. For example, one painting is both hunter and fox. Really clever stuff!

[Emily Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

PB4 - This book had a lot of characters doing a lot of different things during a storm. The pictures weren't the best illustrations I have ever seen but halfway through the book there are words on both sides of the page and when you flip the book, the illustrations go with both sets of words, which was pretty cool.

[Jude Gravois]

(library)

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

The gimmick does not pay off, and aside from that, there is nothing to the book.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big hit with the 3 to 7 year old grands. The illustrations are genius, wee ones could not get enough of reviewing right-side up and upside-down.