A Wild Windy Night

＂Whoooosh!＂ The wind outside is so strong! ＂Hey, Mr. Wind, do you want to play with someone?＂ He’s curious, but it’s time to go to bed. The wind keeps getting stronger and stronger. ＂Whoooosh! Whoooosh! Whoooosh!＂ It’s so loud that it’s hard to sleep. Suddenly, Ricky hears a loud ＂bang!＂ outside. He looks out the window and sees his toy car fly away in the wind. All of his toys start to fly away too! ＂Wait, wait!＂ But he and all his toys are swept up by the wild wind. They fly through the dark, empty night sky towards the far-off woods. It’s scary, but also exciting. Ricky feels like he’s on an adventure. Yui Abe’s beautiful illustrations capture the excitement and wonder of a windy night. You can see the wind blowing Ricky’s hair and clothes, and the fear and excitement in his eyes. But even in the midst of the chaos, there is a sense of warmth and comfort, as Ricky remembers the love and safety of his home. If your child is afraid of windy nights, this book is the perfect way to help them overcome their fears. Through the story of Ricky’s wild adventure, they will learn that even the scariest things can be exciting, and that they are never alone, even in the midst of a storm.

Yui Abe was born in Miyagi, Japan in 1986. Growing up, she was influenced by her father who was a painter and art teacher in junior high school, and developed a love for drawing from a young age. She studied illustration and picture book creation in Tokyo, and has since worked on book cover illustrations and promotional art for theater productions. Her illustration works include ＂The Wonder Maps of the World＂ (Asahi Shimbun Publications) and ＂Onibaba’s Island＂ (Shogakukan). Yui currently lives in Tokyo.