Flood

...beautiful and moving, and ultimately uplifting… * Shelf-Employed blog *
Flood is a wonderful new resource.  It is a wordless picture book beautifully depicting the progression from calm to storm to flood to rebuilding of a family’s home. . . .The most important part is that they are together in the picture after the storm and that they are able to rebuild.  The final picture shows their home rebuilt and happy again.  It is a lovely book and will speak volumes to young children. * The Suburban Barnyard blog *
A wordless book that manages to express the entire gamut of emotions of being flooded. . . .The illustrations are beautiful. * NetGalley Review *
I put in a request to purchase this book at the library. I recently shared CHALK with my preschoolers and they loved figuring out the story themselves. This would be another one they would like. * NetGalley Review *
Outstanding picture book. * Jessy's Bookends blog *
I've never seen a book like this. It's exceptional. The children who have recently experienced Hurricane Sandy came immediately to my mind. The pictures unfold so beautifully telling a story of a family who is trying to save their house from a flood. Their home is destroyed but it's the rebuilding that will help children understand when an awful tragedy happens - life can go on and you can be happy again. What makes Flood so powerful is it is wordless. This is a really smart and non-threatening approach to help children open up about their feelings and fears after a traumatic event. Most importantly it delivers the message that starting over is possible and can be positive. If you are working with children who have been impacted by hurricanes, floods, or any type of house tragedy (fire) please get this book. It's a very therapeutic and healing resource. * Books That Heal Kids blog *
“Flood” is perfect for children facing adversity. It is convenient for opening up dialogue with your children because the lack of words leaves much up to the parent or reader. Interpretation and lesson are mainly in your hands. . . .a highly beneficial and healing resource. * Darian G. Burns blog *
I think this is a wonderful book that's useful in allowing children to learn and explore the emotions surrounding a catastrophic event like a hurricane or flood. I recommend it for that reason. * Roundtable Reviews *
This gripping story of loss and regeneration is told wordlessly through large, beautifully painted illustrations. The opening spread depicts an idyllic scene: blue sky, lush grass, and brother and sister playing outside their charming clapboard home at the edge of the water. But the next spread reveals gathering clouds in a red sky and an anxious parent looking over his shoulder as he installs storm windows. As the spreads progress, the clouds become black and roiling, rain pours down, and not even the sandbags they stack around the house assure the family’s safety. They pack a few possessions into the car, and after regretful backward glances, drive to a hotel. Ensuing pages reveal the storm’s fury as the sky blackens and waves crash inside the house, destroying furnishings and roaring threateningly toward the stairs. A bird perched on a broken branch stands out as a lone survivor. When the family returns, their grief is evident, but they move on to rebuild. Once again the scene is idyllic: contented parents look on as their children play outside the newly renovated home surrounded by freshly planted flowers and trees. This powerful story provides ample opportunities for youngsters to elaborate on the family’s emotions as they experience the destruction of their home and ways in which they were able to cope with this loss. Matt Doeden’s Floods (Pebble Plus, 2010) is a nonfiction explanation of floods and how they occur. * School Library Journal *
“Flood” has no words, but doesn’t really need them (which is a hard thing for a writer to admit). . . .The images by Argentinian artist Villa, are absolutely pregnant with meaning, nuanced and riveting. * The Denver Post, Pages blog *
A final book for young children does not contain any words, and this seems right, because the shocking image to which "Flood" (Capstone, 32 pages, $15.95) builds, and from which it recedes, will leave the reader speechless. In a series of strongly colored paintings, Argentine illustrator Alvaro F. Villa shows a young family in a pretty clapboard house not far from an estuary. Bad weather is brewing: Great clouds boil toward the house as, inside, the family watches a TV weatherman warning of trouble ahead. Friends come with sandbags to encircle the house, but the rain gets too heavy, and the family has to leave. Though the final pages will lift the heart with scenes of renewal, the central image of floodwaters roaring into the family's living room, knocking pictures off the wall and foaming hungrily at the stairs, leaves an impression that no child will quickly forget. * The Wall Street Journal *
The gorgeous painted illustrations vividly tell the tale in this wordless picture book of a family's devastating loss of their home and the rebuilding process. * NetGalley Review *
Children learn that although scary storms and natural disasters may arrive, this is a time for their family to seek safety and comfort in each other. When they pull together, they can get through what happens and then rebuild their lives. Reading along with a grown-up, kids can talk about their fears and what it means to be a family. Flood is a beautiful book that you won’t soon forget. * Susan Heim on Parenting blog *
Absolutely a must purchase. . . .The teacher in me would use this book to teach empathy and cause and effect. I would also use this as a tool to foster discussion around books. * NetGalley Review *
There are ample opportunities for dialog and conversation with young children given only a few simple questions from a parent or caregiver. Because of the intense feelings this book might engender, this is probably better for a slightly older child--ages 5-8 or so, but I think it could be very helpful to even younger children who’ve experienced something like this, whether from fire, flood or other significant loss. The topic is handled very sensitively in the images and despite the traumatic events, there is a strong message of hope and recovery. * Chicago Now, Oh My Books blog *
The impact of a natural disaster on a family unfolds in wordless, digitally created spreads in this first book from Argentinean illustrator Villa. In a small house near an inland body of water, a mother and her two children enjoy leisure time in the living room; outside, however, the family's father glances skyward with concern. Dark clouds barrel toward the house on the following page, swallowing up the eerily yellow sky. With rosy cheeks and red noses, the family constructs a stone barrier around the house, secures the windows, and departs for a hotel. In ghostly sequences, the floodwaters invade the empty structure, tossing furniture and wrecking the lower levels. Upon the family's return, a moment of despair transitions quickly into productivity as they repair the damage. . . .the book is a useful resource for adults to use with children, especially given the damaging hurricanes in recent years. * Publishers Weekly *
A beautifully illustrated wordless book. . . .I recommend this book for anyone's library, public or private. * NetGalley Review *
Flood is a great picture book illustrating the destructive nature of floods. This story would fit right in with the SC fifth grade science standards, and I'm already envisioning the many ways I could use it in my classroom.  I appreciate that this story does not have words, because the illustrations are so powerful that they speak for themselves.  Great book! * NetGalley Review *
...a wonderfully expressive story of a family that sticks together through thick and thin. * Provo Library Children's Book Review *
I really enjoyed this book and think that it will be a help to kids who are going through storm damage or who have witnessed it on the news.  While the damage is scary the story ultimately has a happy ending. * Books Your Kids Will Love blog *
"Flood" is a dramatic, wordless recounting of a natural disaster chasing a family from their home. The miracle here is not only the safety that the family members enjoy but also the eventual recovery of their home. * The Christian Science Monitor, "7 great new illustrated children's books" *
This timely wordless picture book speaks volumes about coming of a storm and the resulting flood. . . .There is hope as the waters recede and although adults will shake their heads at the seemingly “easy” cleanup and restoration, children will find comfort in the sunny end. * EarlyWord Kids blog *
I enjoyed this wordless book and could relate to floodings that have happened in our area. This was a heart-warming story about how the family worked together to restore their home. I liked the details in the endpapers and could see this as a brainstorming activity when sharing this during storytime. I would add this book to our collection. * NetGalley Review *
Flood is one of the most powerful books I have seen in a very long time. The book has beautiful illustrations that alone convey the story of the fierceness of nature and the resilience of man. Flood allows children to tell the story as they turn each page, revealing exquisite art on each spread. Never have illustrations delivered so much. Kids will see a complete drama from happy beginning, to tragic lose, rebuilding, and finally the restoration of home and hope. * Kid Lit Reviews blog *
Outstanding Picture book. . . .Colors are beautiful and embody emotions. Images are drawn carefully and in detail. My favorite element of this book is the images during the hurricane. They show such a fury and intensity, that immediately I felt empathy toward the family depicted in the storybook. This book doesn't need words. Words would be useless in this book, for what the author wants to say is clearly shown to us by his art. Recommended for children all ages. * Jessy's Bookends blog *
Flood is a unique and beautiful picture book by Argentinean illustrator, Alvaro F. Villa. The front and back cover of this book looks like a painting. The art is simply gorgeous and truly gives meaning to the phrase, a picture is worth a thousand words. * The Children's Nook blog *
Kids who have never experienced a flood will get a good idea of the devastation suffered by an ordinary family whose home sweet home—full of memories, pictures, and personal touches—is destroyed by water. * Redeemed Reader blog *
The artwork is superb. What surprised me is how well the story could be told by the artist from page to page. The comfort of home. The uneasiness of an impending storm. The fear associated with fleeing a natural disaster. The sorrow of loss. The renewal of hope. . . .I can't wait to sit down and have my little girl tell me the story that is found in the pages of this well done children's book. If you have kids and like to encourage critical thinking this is a good book. * NetGalley Review *
...a unique and beautiful book...the images captured both the beauty and the heartbreak that comes with flooding in a storm. * Live With Passion blog *
The drawings are beautiful. . . .The landscape, in particular, was rendered quite well and looked like paintings you would see in a gallery. . . .The story itself was pretty compelling. * Second Bookshelf on the Right blog *
Villa’s wordless picture book is a haunting look at a family whose home might be wiped out by a storm. Anyone who has lived through a hurricane will catch their breath at Villa’s unnerving watercolors, generously laid out across long, horizontal spreads. Familiar, nervous moments are found on every page: Dad preparing the windows while the kids, oblivious, play on the floor. The ominous glow of a weatherman delivering his warning soliloquies. Rain-battered volunteers surrounding the house with sandbags. And, of course, the worried family deciding to drive away, waving farewell to their brave, lonely house. The inability to know what nature has in store is quietly gut-wrenching—until a devastating spread depicts the interior of the house as storming with water, furniture being tossed like sticks. Villa’s sole, but significant, misstep is the too-quick turnaround: a single spread of house repair leads to the family enjoying a perfectly restored home. A worthwhile reminder that things are darkest before dawn, though not quite up to the visceral truths that make the rest of the book so moving. * Booklist Online *
Hope, realization, sadness, and finally hope again all shine through the wordless book. My Goddess and I have read this book a few times which is odd to say since there are zero words in the book. The story is completely narrated by the reader which I find quite unique. Leaving openness for those reading to create their own dialogue fitting to their situation. * Maria's Spce blg *
This beautiful wordless book sets a scene all too familiar in Cedar Rapids. The images begin with an idilyic setting of a family enjoying life in their home. As a storm approaches, the family must protect their home as best as they can and evacuate. They return to the devastation of the storm. The book comes full circle when the house is rebuilt and enjoyed again. * The BookHouse bookstore, Marion, IA *
...no words found or needed on any of the strikingly–beautiful 32 pages. This visual storytelling is successful due to the emotionality of Villa’s artistry and the pulsing nature of the subject matter. * The Children’s Bookshelf, Central Michigan University, Public Broadcasting Cente *
This 32-page hardcover tells the gripping stories of families who face the devastation of natural disasters. Told without words, using only the intense and beautiful illustrations of the author, a family braces for the worst when rains and flooding threaten their happy home. * Northwest Indiana Times, Your Family *
This beautifully illustrated book is very powerful, even without words. 5/5 stars. * NetGalley Review *
A wordless narrative of epic proportions follows a family’s survival as rising tides threaten and then consume their home. Stunning, full-bleed illustrations convey all we need to know about their ordeal: that they make it through the terrifying episode together. * ForeWord Reviews *
Wordless books play to a child's inclination to linger over visual detail, and this exceptionally well-done story rewards that attention. . . .Argentinean artist Villa captures the drama in digital paintings -- vivid, almost garish -- that tell of eerie storm skies, whooshing floodwaters and parents lying awake in the television's glow. Big weather provokes anxiety, but "Flood" reminds readers that...