Sweep by Louise Greig, illustrated by Julia Sarda (9781534439085)

Ed was in a bad mood. It was a raging bad mood that hit him like a storm. It swept him up and carried him along with it. Ed started pushing leaves before him, sweeping animals and other things along the way. He piled up bicycles and even cars. But still he could not stop himself though he knew he had gone far enough. He stormed on ignoring the lovely things around him, caught up in his own mood. He swept and swept until darkness fell and everything was piled high. He sat down and considered stopping entirely but that might have been impossible without a shift in the wind that cleared the air and got him looking up again. It wiped out his bad mood entirely, or did it?

Greig’s writing will sweep readers away on Ed’s bad mood. Her pacing is gleefully great grabbing readers up and taking them across the pages at a breakneck pace. Until the reader is reminded to look up, and then later when darkness falls there is another wonderful pause. The mood of the book matches Ed’s cleverly, slowing at the end to enjoy the bright freshness of a good mood.

Sarda’s illustrations are filled with breezes and autumnal colors. The pages fill with leaves piling up and forming the glue that holds vehicles, animals and people. Entire mountains form eventually taking over the city. It’s wonderfully audacious and over the top.

Let this one sweep away your bad mood. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Simon & Schuster.