Floating by the Clouds

Written by Mohammad Awad

Illustrated by Niña Nill

Penguin Books, 2026

Reviewed by Zewlan Moor

When I heard an enthusiastic review of this book by teacher-librarian Megan Daley, on the “Your Kids Next Read” podcast, for some reason I braced myself for a sentimental, schmalzy book. My least favourite type of picture book! But when I sat down to read it, I could understand where Daley’s enthusiasm came from.

Books about complex emotions are often quite subdued and serious-looking, illustrated with a more sombre palette. Paired with rising star CBCA Notable illustrator Niña  Nill’s cute illustrations, this is an attractive package for a slower paced story children can linger over with their caregivers.

Mohammad Awad’s words are an extended metaphor of sadness being as inevitable and necessary as the clouds bearing rain. The book starts with front endpapers in muted shades of blue and green, depicting two smiling frogs enjoying the raindrops falling on a pond. The first story spread has a first-person narrator who cuts to the chase by boldly asserting the theme upfront: “I used to only chase the sunshine,/always afraid of the clouds … Over time,/ I learned to call for the clouds/ when they fill with grey,/ heavy with doubts and tears;/ … Now I love to hear the clouds sing;/ their sorrows/ and sadness/ fill up the streets.”

The smiling main character observes her neighbours running in the rain, a car splashing through puddles, and  heavy long droplets pelting down. The reader can almost hear the sound of raindrops on the asphalt and neighbouring corrugated iron roof, just from the illustrations.

Sound and language are used to great effect in the text as well. Alliteration is sprinkled though the text, for example, “concerns and conundrums” “brimming with the blues” and “make melodies of your monsoons.” Metaphors abound: the eyes are windows, the eyelids are curtains. Sunlight represents bearing witness, as well as happiness. Clouds stand for sadness, and rain is the tears of clouds.

Nicest of all is when a passage of speech, no doubt addressed by Awad to his son (“We do not blame the clouds for the rain./ It is only natural that they cry from time to time./ They cannot keep all their/ feelings inside/ and still stay afloat,/ so why should you?”) is illustrated as the main character noticing her younger sibling’s fear, and comforting him.

The message is that sadness is necessary but also holds great creative potential and power: “I am thankful every time the rain pours. I am thankful every drop/ makes dams/ of our droughts,/ feeding the gardens outside my house.” Rain brings choirs and colour.

There has been a longstanding trend for social and emotional learning books, catering to parental interest, and to tie in on these issues within the national Early Years and Stage 1 curriculum. Often they can be quite heavy-handed in the way they convey their moral lessons. Floating by the Clouds is a welcome addition to this genre.

This heartwarming story is the debut picture book for Awad, an openly queer, Lebanese-Australian poet, musician and mental health advocate from a Muslim background. It is to be hoped it reaches a wide general audience

Zewlan Moor is the author of Nothing Alike, The Bill Dup and Our World: Philippines. Her latest book, Say Hello Like an Armadillo is out in the US/UK in June 2026 and Australia in Summer 2026-7. Pre-order or add it to your Goodreads Want To Read shelf now!