The Cloud Lasso

by Stephanie Schlaifer, Melodie Stacey (Illustrator)

Big gloomy clouds have hung over Delilah’s head and heart since her beloved grandfather died. But remembering an old trick he taught her on the farm, she lassos all the clouds—shaped like everything she dislikes from radishes to the boy who makes fun of her for wearing overalls—out of the sky as she navigates her feelings of sadness and isolation. The Cloud Lasso is a poetic meditation on loss, memory, and paying homage to those we’ve lost and also features two cool farm dogs.

Genres: Picture Books, Death, Grief, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

Published November 12, 2019

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book about a young girl trying to deal with loss after her grandfather passes away. Art is truly beautiful!

[Literary Redhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sweet book moved me with its pensive illustrations in blues and greens and the evocative story of Delilah’s loss of her beloved grandfather. He taught her to corral all the clouds in the sky and she uses this image to cope with her grief. A sensitive treatment of mourning for children. 4/5

Pub Date 12 Nov 2019.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#TheCloudLasso #NetGalley

[La Coccinelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one just didn't work for me. The concept is way too abstract for younger readers, too simple for older readers, and so unrealistic that it's generally unhelpful.

I'm also not a fan of the illustrations. Aside from not really being done in a style I like, they're also a bit confusing as they don't always match the text. (We're told Delilah could see nothing but clouds for miles... when the blue sky behind them is evident.)

I'm also not sure about naming the grandfather Doo-Dad. I'm a grown adult, and even I had a momentary snicker. (Yes, we're told why he had that name, but the spelling doesn't make sense. I think it was just a poor choice.)

Overall, I can't really recommend this one. It seemed to be about dealing with grief... but I don't really see how lassoing turnip-shaped clouds and flying your dogs up to sit on a rainbow is applicable to the real world. It's likely that Delilah's dealing with her emotions via her imagination... but, like I said earlier, that's a bit of an abstract concept for a children's book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penny Candy Books for providing a digital ARC.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this picture book about a sad girl whose grandfather has died. The sky is full of clouds and she uses a lasso to rope them one at a time, each one looking like something unpleasant (the dress she had to wear on picture day, chickens she doesn't like feeding, etc.). Eventually the sky is all blue but there's still a cloud over her heart. She sees a rainbow and lassos herself and her dogs onto it, and everything is okay.

Child-like colored pencil illustrations accompany the text.

I'm not sure how this book would help a child deal with grief, and the illustrations were not really to my taste. I'm afraid it was a bit of a miss for me.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Duck, Death and the Tulip, I'm glad more narratives round death and grief are becoming available for children. While Scandinavian picture-books don't approach this subject matter as taboo, I'm pleased more countries are broaching this subject and becoming a subject children can talk about, rather than something to avoid.

The story itself is lovely, and Melodie Stacey's illustrations are colourful, delicate and lively; I would say, however, that the type and the colour of the type could have been tweaked a little bit, as it doesn't quite go with the illustrations. This is just my opinion though.

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me a copy in return for an honest review!

[Etienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute story but can’t say I enjoy it, nothing really new and I didn’t like the illustration style. Wasn’t for me!

[Mathew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl, not able to understand or cope with emotions that come with the death of her grandfather finds herself taking a treasured item of his, a lasso, and pulling clouds of memories down to her. With each cloud comes a memory and in facing these, the young girl gradually comes to face her loss.

Delilah sits atop an old crate at the doorway to her Doo-Dad’s barn. Although the world around her if rich with life, she sees nothing. Rich, colourful landscapes suddenly give way to stark white background as Delilah focuses on the memory of her grandfather, Doo-Dad. Cloud-framed memories come to her and eventually she finds herself pulling down other clouds and other thoughts that she had lost to her grief.

There is a nice partnership here between Schlaifer and Stacey with the former giving space for Stacey’s illustrations to do some of the talking too. Although the message is a nice one and there is room here for children who may have suffered loss to share their own memories. Some of memories that Delilah roped seemed disconnected to me and the introduction of the rainbow at the end felt a little quick in its placement. But there are rich illustrations here and a nice idea that I just felt needed a little more refining.

[Amber Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved The Cloud Lasso and all that it stood for. Helping children deal with sadness and grief around the loss of someone special is never easy, but The Cloud Lasso gave children an opportunity to be sad, reflect on the one they had lost and move through it, always knowing there will be some sadness associated with that loss. Recalling something that the person you lost would encourage you to do was helpful and the idea of lassoing clouds was perfect and fulfilling.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

'The Cloud Lasso' by Stephanie Schlaifer with illustrations by Melodie Stacey is a picture book about a young girl with a lot of clouds hanging over her head.

Delilah has been living under a series of clouds since her grandfather died. Her sadness is manifested as clouds hiding the blue sky. One day, she finds her grandfather's old rope and it reminds her of how good he was at using it as a lasso. She decides to try, and slowly, she finds a way to catch all the clouds around her.

This is a sweet story about loss, grief, remembrance, and what it sometimes takes to move on. The pictures are simple but nice for this story. As Delilah finds a way, perhaps younger readers could as well.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Penny Candy Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

[Leah Horton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cloud Lasso was a short story about a young girl named Delilah and her struggle through cloudy days when her Doo-Dad (grandfather) passed away. Grief is a very difficult journey for anyone, and it’s especially hard for children. I love how this story symbolizes grief by the clouds. The way Delilah uses the lasso (a connection to her Doo-Dad) to work through her sadness and find some happiness was really easy to follow.

I think this book would be helpful for children who have lost someone. The colors were a little subdued but I think that really drove home the idea that Delilah was in a sad place.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty abstract in my opinion. I'm not sure kids are going to understand lassoing clouds to manage grief. I don't know. Just doesn't work for me. But Maybe the story will help a child cope with the lose of a beloved grandparent (in this case a grandfather). Illustrations didn't download correctly to my Kindle, so I;ll reserve judgement on them. The cover looks nice.
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Keith Mannina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book did a great job showing what the early stages of grief or like when you lose a loved one, especially a parent. I can’t concentrate or correctly feel anything other than the miasma that is left inside you when that piece of your heart is missing. Over the course of the book the main character Delilah put some of the pieces back together through her daydreaming and imagining that she can lasso memories from the clouds that are all around her. Would recommend.

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly a book about grief, dealt with by doing something she was taught by her grandfather, and taking on her anger one cloud at a time, until she can see sunlight again. A young child probably won't really understand the significance unless they are dealing with a loss themselves, and even then it might be too abstract, but it's got a nice tone.

[Hannah Crull-sher · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting (though kind of unrelatable) take on dealing with grief over a lost loved one. Delilah's world is covered in clouds since her grandfather's death, until a bluebird brings her her grandfather's lasso, which she uses to pull down the clouds until the sky is blue again.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Melodie Stacey's artwork, which prompted me to seek out this book that she illustrated. I didn't know anything else about it. It is a story of a young girl wrestling with grief and other emotions after the loss of her grandfather. Would be great for older children.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I could see what they were trying to do with this book, but I didn't think it executed well. I also wasn't a fan of the illustration style used with this type of story.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Delilah misses her Grandpa who she called doodad because he was always up to something. She learns how to lasso because that is something her Grandpa was really good at. But she was lassoing things that weren't really there, and I didn't like the illustrations.

[clivey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple but fresh take on dealing with grief, this book offers a unique girl who's honesty kids will appreciate. The illustrations boldly move the story along with both weight and whimsy.

[Benjamin Niespodziany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little book about catching clouds and turning blue the sky.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. However, I think there's a metaphor there that children won't grasp.

[piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

yeouch! wonderful book about grief