The Clouds Above
by Jordan Crane (Fantagraphics, 2005)

When Simon arrives late for school, he avoids a bludgeoning with his mean-hearted teacher's phonebook by sneaking up to the school roof with his talking, impossibly long-tailed cat, Jack. There they find a stairway leading up, and there their adventures begin.

Written and drawn by Jordan Crane, The Clouds Above is a delightful little tale that children and adults alike can enjoy. As they mount the stairs into ever-increasing altitudes, the boy and cat encounter nasty yellow birds and a very friendly, although sad, little cloud. They rumble with a thundering herd of storm clouds and flop into the soggy saltpatch flats. They fly and they fall -- although, given the scariness of the great heights they've scaled, let's just call it autumn, instead.

The Clouds Above is a cute, quick read; although more than 200 pages long, each page has only a single cartoon panel, often with little or no dialogue. The "terribly terrific and tremendously true travels of Simon and Jack" are easily absorbed in one sitting.




Rambles.NET
review by
Tom Knapp

28 April 2007






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