When the dark clouds come

This picture book begins as a simple story of a child watching a storm roll in but evolves into a quiet, resonant meditation on resilience. The child notices the light shift ("the sun goes dim") and hurries inside as the winds rise and rain lashes the rooftop. Ridolfi's prose is straightforward yet musical, with lines that read like free verse, punctuated by evocative moments of metaphor ("thunder rolls down the stairs like a tumbling snore") and personification ("shadows whisper good night"). On its surface, the storm is literal, but the book also works as a gentle metaphor for weathering emotional or personal turbulence: "when the dark clouds come, the sun is never far behind." Ridolfi's digitally composed collage illustrations heighten the drama. The textured layers and expressive lines make each spread feel almost tangible; viewers may find themselves wanting to run their fingers across the page. Particularly striking is a spread showing the child's home seen from afar, rain driving down in straight, slightly slanted streaks, the text anchored beneath in a calm horizontal strip. Throughout, Ridolfi uses movement and contrast -- dark against light, rough against smooth -- to evoke both the ferocity of the storm and the comfort of its passing. A visually rich and emotionally grounded picture book that finds beauty and solace in life's inevitable tempests. Julie DanielsonJanuary/February 2026 p.63 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A child endures a stormy night. Illustrator and picture-book scholar Ridolfi's debut opens outdoors "on a hot summer day when the sun goes dim" as a long-haired, tan-skinned child watches as clouds roll in, grasses sway, and leaves rustle. When raindrops fall, the little one, protected under an oversize purple plaid umbrella and wearing polka-dot boots, walks alongside other umbrella holders as "sidewalks disappear into dark wet shadows." Before lightning flashes and thunder rolls, the adventurer returns home safely and snuggles into bed. The next morning's "warm new day" reminds readers that "when the dark clouds come, the sun is never far behind." Ridolfi has digitally composed striking illustrations in mixed-media collages of diverse patterns and various textures. Darkness haunts most of the pages--balanced with brighter patches of flowers, hanging laundry, and a quilted comforter--until the final two spreads are awash in sunlight. With a background as a clinical psychologist, Ridolfi highlights the child's independent self-reliance, but that solitariness feels more lonely than empowering, abandoning the youngster to a scurrying mouse, a curious cat, and whispering shadows. The choice not to include ready comforts--a glowing night light, a gentle hand--as well as layouts that depict the child and the home as tiny and vulnerable, will leave many young readers feeling more unsettled than soothed. A visually striking but ultimately discomfiting tale.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.