Iceland is a very windy place.Going for a walk can be challenging. The ladies in one village, with the help of the chickens, set out to stop the wind. But the hungry sheep have other plans. Why aren’t there any trees in the Icelandic countryside? This original tale will tell you why and leave you smiling at the determination of the ever singing Icelandic ladies and their steadfast chickens.
Related: Early Years (ages 2-6), Fantasy, Iceland, Nordic, Picture Book
- ISBN: 9780618773305
- Author: McMillan, Bruce
- Illustrator: Gunnella
- Published: 2007, Houghton Mifflin
- Themes: Determination, Patience, solution, wind
- Descriptors: Early Years (ages 2-6), Fantasy, Iceland, Nordic, Picture Book
- No. of pages: 32
How the Ladies Stopped the Wind
After reading my kindergartners this adorable story, I observed that they realized that the trees were the most important thing to these ladies. The trees were important to them because it decorated the landscape as well as stopped the wind from blowing them down. My students also noticed that the songs they made up became very important to the ladies as well. On the playground, I even heard a few of my students singing the simple songs they heard in the book. The final thing my students found to be important to the ladies was the chickens because the chickens made the fertilizer to help the trees grow tall and fast. Also, my kindergartners really enjoyed the illustrations and the funny sheep; students would laugh every time a sheep was on the page. They kept saying “Oh, those silly sheep!”