Whither? Whether? Whatever! The Weather Girls by Aki

MEET THE WEATHER GIRLS!

IN SUMMER TIME WE RISE AND SHINE!

A BIG, BRIGHT SUN! LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!

Sixteen little girls in slickers are ready for rain, but when the sun's out, it's time for swimming and splashing in swimsuits!

And when leaves fall and autumn is all they've got, they make the best of it, skipping in the wild winds and jumping in the fallen leaves, picking apples from apple trees, and biking in the breezy breeze.

Winter brings toboggan caps with tassels and poofy parkas and mittens, just right for snowballs and snowmen. And of course when spring zephyrs play with  blossoms, when showers bring flowers, there are rainbows above. What's not to love about all sorts of weathers and seasons?

Sixteen little girls, in two straight lines... in rain or shine.... If this book reminds us of something, it should, because it has the same premise as Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline. and Aki's brand-new The Weather Girls (Henry Holt and Company, 2018), while not giving us a picturesque tour of Paris, give us sixteen lively and varied little girls who are jolly and active whatever the weather. Cute as buttons in their sunny-colored slickers, they brighten a dreary rainy scene, and in all the seasons, they don't sit still, going hither and yon through the woods, the town, the seaside and the sledding hill, whither they willst through the seasons!

Aki's straight lines of girls make for an engaging page design and this lighthearted look at the cycle of the seasons is a pleasure to the eye. Kirkus opines, "A breezy seasonal storytime choice . . . the art carries most of the weight—and does so delightfully."