The Police Cloud, written and illustrated by Christoph Niemann

The Police Cloud
Written and illustrated by Chrisoph Niemann
Schwartz & Wade Books (2007); $15.99
40 pp.; ISBN-13: 978-0375839634

Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews

Christoph Niemann's The Police Cloud proves that dreams really can come true, even if it's not in the ways we most expect or want.

In this funny and charming picture book, a fluffy white cloud has only one dream: to help people by joining the police department as an officer. But when he gets his big chance, donning the blue policeman's hat isn't quite what he thought it would be. He floats down to help other officers apprehend a criminal, but sort of gets in the way. His efforts to help direct traffic are similarly thwarted, snarling a busy intersection. And when he's assigned a task as simple as making sure the city's park-goers and sunbathers are happy, well, the poor cloud can't seem to get that right either.

Disappointed, the cloud doesn't even realize the benefits of his natural talent as his falling tears rescue a little house engulfed in flames, a dramatic turn in the story that leads the cloud to his true calling, that of helping people by being a firefighter.

Important lessons in dealing with disappointment and seizing opportunity are re-slanted for the preschool and early elementary school set with these bold, brightly colored and stylized illustrations in a similar vein to Dan Yaccarino (Oswald, Bittle). Strong on visual storytelling (rather than come out and say why the cloud wouldn't make a great traffic cop, the illustration shows the fluffy white cloud smack in the middle of the intersection, obscuring the drivers' view and causing a pile-up. Niemann's illustrations, which have often appeared on the cover of the New Yorker and in the New York Times and Time magazine, are spare yet expressive. They really keep to the action of the book, allowing young readers to follow along on their own and enjoy the book as a shared storytime experience or reading by themselves.

A tightly focused story, The Police Cloud is a warmly written book that presents the lesson that even if things don't work out the way you want them too, you can still be happy. The unexpected conclusion to the book reassures young readers (and reminds us grownups) that all is not lost when disappointment hits. Of course the cloud is sad when it's clear that his career with the police department won't work out, but he cries and floats away, only to be surprised by his "right place at the right time" rescue of the burning house with his tears. Buoyed by the congratulations by the fire department, he's open-minded about this alternative plan and it turns out to be a great match for the cloud and the fire department.

Niemann's simple and artful writing style keeps the story moving, holding kids' interest in both the telling and illustrations. I caught my own two-year-old sitting on the couch and reading The Police Cloud aloud to herself (okay, not really reading word for word, but still, I can tell this is going to be one of those library books I have to sneak into the library book tote bag during naptime because otherwise she'll never let it go).