Clouds & Cannonballs

Clouds & Cannonballs
by The Wilder Twins
 
Clouds & Cannonballs is the kind of children's book that feels like it was written by someone who enjoys being a little silly, a little thoughtful, and occasionally both at the same time. Rather than telling one long story, The Wilder Twins fill the book with a collection of short pieces that jump from imagination and friendship to kindness, bullying, gratitude, creativity, and plenty of goofy humor along the way.
 
The book opens with "Once Upon a Time," which immediately sets the tone. After running through all the familiar fairy tales and asking whether we've heard them before, the narrator finally says the story is about "you." It's a simple way to get the reader involved, and it fits nicely with what The Wilder Twins seem to be doing throughout the book: encouraging kids to see themselves as part of the stories they read and, more importantly, as someone capable of creating their own.
 
Some of the shortest pieces are also some of the funniest. "Invisible Robby Robertson" takes the idea of being invisible and lets Robby use it to cause as much trouble as possible, only for the joke to be revealed at the end. "Cannonball" takes a child's enthusiasm for a pool jump and turns it into something much bigger, with soaked people, toppled lawn chairs, and a nearly empty pool. Then there are pieces like "Massage," where the joke is almost entirely in the way the words are presented. Kids who enjoy silly humor will probably have fun with these.
 
There is plenty of wordplay, too. "Spelling Matters" is essentially a love letter written with wonderfully terrible spelling, while "Bob the Blob" leans heavily into rhyming words until the story becomes almost ridiculous. "Fruity Alphabet" takes readers through the alphabet using different fruits, but instead of making it a straightforward educational exercise, The Wilder Twins fill it with jokes and odd little observations. It feels more like an alphabet list that got hijacked by someone who couldn't resist adding one more joke.
 
What I liked most about the collection, though, is that the humor isn't the whole point. Several of the pieces have a surprisingly sincere message underneath the silliness. "The Psychic Boy" is a good example. A boy who can hear everyone's thoughts discovers that nearly everyone around him has insecurities, worries, or things they're afraid to say out loud. Instead of using his unusual ability for himself, he decides to use it to remind his classmates that they're not alone. It's a straightforward lesson about kindness, but the story gets there in a way that children can understand.
 
"The Last Tree" has a similar approach. Sammy discovers the last tree on Earth and initially sees it as a way to make money. He charges people to visit it, touch it, and climb it, until the tree begins to suffer and the visitors stop coming. The talking tree eventually helps Sammy understand that something as important as nature shouldn't belong to one person. It's a nice little story about generosity and sharing, and I appreciated that Sammy gets the opportunity to recognize his mistake rather than simply being labeled as a bad person.
 
"Ambrosia" also carries a thoughtful message. Ambrosia is an apple living in Orange County, California, where everyone else happens to be an orange. She feels like she doesn't belong, so she moves to New York because she assumes "The Big Apple" must be full of apples. Of course, it isn't. Instead, she finds a city full of all kinds of fruit and eventually realizes that being different doesn't mean she doesn't belong. She can simply be herself. It's a familiar lesson, but the fruit metaphor makes it playful enough for young readers.
 
There are also a few pieces that are quieter than the rest. "The Oldest Love Story There Is" is a very short tribute to the bond between a mother and child, while "Birthday" gently reminds readers that getting everything on a wish list isn't necessarily what makes a good birthday. Sometimes a picnic and time with people you love are enough. "Apologies" manages to make an entire story out of four very simple lines about saying sorry and becoming friends again.
 
I especially enjoyed "Stars" and "Clouds." Both take something ordinary and turn it into an opportunity for imagination. In "Clouds," two people keep seeing completely different things in the sky until all those strange comparisons eventually lead to the simple admission, "I like looking at clouds with you." It's one of those little moments that doesn't need a complicated lesson attached to it. Sometimes spending time with someone you enjoy is the point.
 
The book also has a nice appreciation for creativity. "Draw More" encourages children to draw, write, dance, take pictures, make up stories, ask questions, and generally create things without worrying too much about whether they're good. That's a message I think is worth emphasizing for kids, especially because the piece doesn't suggest that everything they create needs to be shared or judged. They can make something simply because they enjoy making it.
 
Not every piece is going to land equally well for every reader, of course. Some of the humor is deliberately silly, and there are quite a few fart jokes, gross-out jokes, exaggerated situations, and jokes that rely on wordplay. That's clearly part of The Wilder Twin's style. Kids who like that kind of humor will probably have a great time with it, while adults may occasionally find themselves rolling their eyes before laughing anyway.
 
I also think the variety works better when the book is read a little at a time rather than straight through in one sitting. There are so many different styles here that the collection almost feels like a box of assorted treats. You might get a silly joke, then a poem, then a lesson about kindness, then a completely absurd story about a monster, followed by something genuinely touching. The unpredictability is part of the fun.
 
The final piece, "RUN!", brings many of those ideas together. It begins as complete chaos, with zombies, aliens, a giant tiger, a flying shark, an avalanche, a monster, a harpoon-wielding duck, and just about everything else imaginable chasing the reader. But eventually the supposed attackers stop, and we discover that they aren't dangerous at all. The real message is about facing uncertainty with courage and remembering that kindness can be just as important as bravery.
 
That's probably the best description of Clouds & Cannonballs as a whole. It wants children to laugh, but it also wants them to notice things, imagine things, be kind, appreciate the people around them, and not take themselves too seriously. The Wilder Twins aren't afraid to be goofy when a joke calls for it, but he also leaves room for some genuinely sweet moments.
 
This is a fun collection for kids who enjoy books that don't always behave the way they're expected to. There are jokes, poems, mini-stories, word games, lessons, and plenty of opportunities for a child to stop and think, "Wait, what?" before realizing where the author is going. Beneath all the silliness is a pretty consistent message: use your imagination, be yourself, treat people well, appreciate what you have, and don't be afraid to have a little fun along the way.
 
Clouds & Cannonballs doesn't try to be one big adventure with a single plot. Instead, it's a collection of little adventures in imagination, and that's what makes it work.

Purchase the book on Amazon 

See more inside the book on Instagram