As a mom focused on helping my toddler understand and manage their feelings, Weather Any Storm by Vanessa Zuisei Goddard is an uplifting addition to our bookshelf! This beautifully illustrated book uses weather metaphors to guide young readers through navigating their emotions and facing life's challenges.

The soothing rhymes and relatable scenarios make it accessible for little ones, while the vivid illustrations captivate their attention. It’s a wonderful tool for fostering conversations about resilience, emotional awareness, and the importance of support during tough times.

Final Thoughts:
Weather Any Storm is an empowering, heartfelt read perfect for moms looking to instill emotional intelligence in their children. It’s a gentle reminder that just like weather, emotions are a natural part of life, and we can learn to embrace and understand them together!

Challenging days can be difficult for children to face. It can be hard when the billies cause havoc in one's mind. Children are given tools to conquer these troublesome billies in this well illustrated story.

This book is a great addition to children's literature of encouragement in resolving negative feelings. The illustrations by Patty Donnelly compensate the text very well. The illustration of a boat being tossed around in a stormy sea is a relatable metaphor for children. A well-written book that provides children with tips for weathering the storm of life.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Shambhala Publications, Inc., Bala Kids. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Picture Books for mental health

I loved the beginning of WEATHER ANY STORM. The art is gorgeous and the ocean metaphor is very fitting for being overwhelmed. It felt lyrical.

I wasn't so sure about it moving to these fuzzy monsters that are attacking the child. It felt like metaphors were being mixed. However, I don't think kids would be bugged by this. This section wasn't as lyrical.

I still recommend this book for anyone who is trying to help a child cope with difficulties. Different metaphors will connect with different people. I think you keep trying until you find something that resonates with your kiddo.

With Goddard's memorable "Wildering Billies" and crisp meter, alongside Donnelly's wonderful oceanic illustrations, this is another excellent Buddhist primer from Shambala Press. The "Billies" are a great shorthand for younger students to remind them of the transitory nature of emotions. This book would be a great addition for a teacher looking for a social-emotional learning (SEL) book. While clearly rooted in Buddhist insight, it is not pushy about Buddhism and actually does not mention the Buddha at all in the text.

This is such a good book!!! The illustrations are wo derful and makes you feel like you are in the water. This would be great for a home library.

This book is fantastic. The book is a giant metaphor on how to deal with anxiety. In this case, anxiety is a boat. And it’s a calm day, but things start to get worse, and the Billies come. They believe in other things that want to wreck the ship and pull them down. In typical books about how to whether anxiety, there’s “take breath”, “be calm”, etc. This book uses a metaphor of riding the waves up and down as breathing in and breathing out. Picturing your boat and then tying the anchor. It’s all done in a sing song, rhyming fashion that just works. It’s not lecturing anyone, it’s not giving them a three point plan, it’s giving them something they can remember because it’s sing songs the illustrations are just as fantastic as the story itself.

I LOVED THIS. It was SO AMAZING. It gives young readers (and frankly older readers who just have a hard time admitting it) a visual for what anxiety can feel like, which can lead to discussion of emotions. WHICH I LOVE. I thought this was just amazing and it gave such useful tips on managing it! Could not recommend more.

An empowering story for children. The artworks is pretty standout as well. I'll be recommending this one to our Youth Services person for the Children's room as well.

The illustrations in this book are beautiful! I love the concept of this book - that we all have a wide range of emotions and that there are ways of dealing with them. An important SEL skill for children to understand and learn.

I felt like the vocabulary and rhyming text in the book would be a bit difficult for the age range (4-8). I think it would be better for older kids. I was also confused by the Billies (the out of control emotions). They didn’t quite seem to fit in with the story.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC. This book features rich vocabulary and practical tips for mindfulness and quieting the mind. Great SEL option.

With a lyrical, rhythmic text and lovely, rather dreamy looking illustrations, Weather Any Storm offers up a way for children to calm down when caught in an emotional burst. Actually, the technique is applicable for anyone although, even as an adult, the sudden appearance of the Billies initially confused me. Once I figured out that they represent wildly out of control emotions, however, it made sense.

I won't detail the steps suggested but will simply say breathe seems to be the central force. Using the rhythm of the text and the suggestive image of waves rising and falling, the reader is guided through the process of escaping the Billies, ie out of control emotions and feelings, into a place of peace and calmness. The steps are repeated again in boxes at the end.

My only concern is that the book seems to assume both the adult reader and child (target age 4-8) have some background or familiarity with this concept. This may not be true and I'm not sure the typical, questioning child will fully grasp the concept simply by having it read to them. That said, once I figured where the author was going with the text/illustrations, I enjoyed the book and found myself nodding along in agreement, particularly when the author adds the comment that if you lose focus, simply stop and start the process over again. In other words, you are in control.

Thanks #NetGalley and #ShambhalaPublications - #BalaKids for a reminder of a potent way to calm jitters and nerves, even if it took me a moment to find my place in it. In this increasingly frantic, volatile world, we all need a way to center ourselves.

Weather Any Storm is a lyrical allegory for handling difficult times. It is a beautifully written rhyming text with wonderful illustrations. Although it has an important message for kids, I think the language is too advanced for readers that age. I also believe that explanation would be necessary by an adult reader to make the comparison between the storm and difficult times. I also felt the Billies were unnecessary and detracted from the main storm image. The backmatter is excellent, providing easy to follow and actionable steps to deal with difficult times.

Although I would not recommend this book for the standard picture book age group (4-8), I would suggest reading it to an older audience (9-12). I believe this age group would be better able to understand the message in the main text and make connections with the theme.

Weather Any Storm is a cute children's book about breathing through any problems you face. I love that it was accessible to kids and modeled meditation in a simple but impactful way. I also think it spans age groups -- love that it's for 4-8 year olds. My son is 4 and he can enjoy the imagery of the storm and getting through it. It will grow with him and later he can learn more of the meditation aspects and how breathing can help him through hard times. Even as an adult I found the imagery and tips in it to be very calming and impactful. Highly recommend!

Whether Any Storm is a book to help teach children about how to control their emotions. The rhyming text was fun and engaging. My son stayed engaged throughout the story. He really enjoyed the colorful billies. It was also a great opportunity for us to discuss taking deep breaths and other ways to calm ourselves. The illustrations are beautiful.