How the Ladies Stopped the Wind

by Bruce McMillan, Gunnella (Illustrator)

The women of one village in Iceland decide to plant trees to stop the powerful winds that make it difficult even to go for a walk, but first they must find ways to prevent the sheep from eating all of their saplings while encouraging chickens to fertilize them.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

30 pages, Hardcover

First published September 24, 2007

Reviews

[Kirsty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the illustrations well enough, along with the fact that the book is set in Iceland, but the prose was pretty bad; it is at once matter-of-fact and very odd. The story here is a strange one too; there just wasn’t much which I liked about it. It would not have kept my interest had I read it as a child. Not for me.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

My complaint about this book is the same as the complaint I had about The Problem with Chickens, set, apparently, in the same Icelandic village-- surely all Icelandic village women aren't fat? Is the illustrator trying to equate fat with peasant? I know someone from Iceland, and she's far from fat! Aside from that, the story also got a bit confusing with the chickens, sheep, and cow running around from place to place. I do think their solution to the wind problem was a good one--planting trees-- but I think it could have been told better.

[L.A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

From what I can find, this tale is based on a true concept of the Vikings having deforested Iceland, and women later attempting to plant trees to make life easier. They truly have trouble with reforestation due to sheep eating saplings. Someone desperately needs to write another book and tell the story better.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story that will have the reader chuckling. Fun illustrations.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story but not great for a group read.

[Chrisanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Illustrations make the book and this one struggles. And the text was slightly brusque. Made me wonder if it was a translation.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about the importance of trees on the plains of Iceland and the perseverance and gift from one generation to the future.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

McMillan tells an original tale of why there are no trees in the Icelandic countryside. It's very windy in Iceland and the ladies keep blowing away. So the women of the village decide to plant trees to slow the wind down. And they keep their chickens very happy so that they will fertilize the newly planted trees. The problem is the sheep; they eat the new trees. So the ladies ask the cows to herd the sheep away from the trees. This works until the sheep eat all the grass and then the cows leave.

The sheep eventually eat all the trees in the countryside. But the ladies of the village also built fences to keep the sheep away from the trees in the village itself.

It's an interesting tale, but the language is stilted and does not flow well. Also, readers never learn where the cows went.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

McMillian, Bruce; How the Ladies Stopped the Wind , Houghton Mifflin Co. Language-G, Sexual Content-G, Violence-G;
In this silly story about wind, ladies, and chickens, we find out how to stop wind and sheep. The ladies want to plant trees to stop the wind, but all the sheep want to do is eat the trees. The chickens so a wonderful job of provide fertilizer. The illustrations are whimsical. While children may not pick this title off the shelf themselves, if read aloud to them, they will want to share the story with others.
EL, Advisable Allison Madsen~Children's & Teen Librarian-SJO Public Library

[John Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this books starts out slow. I think children would enjoy this book for the colors and the perseverance of the sheep. I would say that the illustrations saved this book. As I read through books to pick to read aloud to the class, I chose this one because it provides a great message that if you put your mind to it you can do anything. The story follows young ladies that live in Iceland and do not like how windy it is. They plant trees in order to stop the wind. Sheep keep coming and eating their trees and they figure out a way to keep the sheep out. In the end the girls succeed and put an end to the crazy wind in Iceland.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, my goodness this book is ridiculous! Funny to read from an adult perspective, but I wouldn't read it in storytime so much.

The ladies in Icelandic towns want to plant trees to be wind blocks for the extremely strong winds. Sounds good so far, right? Well, the ladies buy some trees and plant them. They sing to the chickens to help them make fertilizer for the trees. They also sing to the sheep asking them not to eat the trees. Eventually, this song becomes the most famous song in Iceland. What??

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iceland is so very WINDY that the Ladies get blown down when they go for their merry afternoon stroll and so soon they devise a plan to plan trees around their village. The chickens provide fertilizer, the cows keep the sheep away and the young Ladies help with planting until though the everyday miracle of nature their problem is solved! Charming collage style illustrations make this a complete package!

[Sarah Brock]

I am honestly pretty confused by this book. The storyline seemed to be really random, and I am left wondering what exactly the main idea of the book was. All I am sure of is that the trees were successfully planted to block the wind in the villages. I feel like I missed something while reading though. It is interesting that the men of the village are never mentioned, and I feel like there is something behind that choice of exempting them, but I'm not quite sure what that is.

[Jordan]

This was a cute story to explain why there are trees in the villages of Iceland and not in the countryside. It was okay, but not overly entertaining. The pictures were interesting because all of the women, and other characters looked the same. I think children would probably enjoy it, but at the same time it was a little strange. I was confused by the book because I was not a hundred percent sure what the point was. It was definitely not my favorite.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was rather strange, in my opinion. The chickens and sheep seemed like rather out of place characters at the beginning. Eventually their presence in the story made a little bit more sense, but in general the story seemed rather random. It was a cute idea that they planted trees to stop the wind and that explains why there are so many trees in the villages, but the details surrounding it were just strange. I did like the colorfulness of the book, though.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute book about Iceland's wind and their trees (or lack thereof).
An adorable story, with great illustrations by McMillan and Gunnella.
Having been to Iceland, this story fits very well with what is seen there. The illustrations are fun, vibrant, and the best part of the book.
I love the rationale and problem solving aspect of this story. I love the "thinking outside the box" approach these women take. Therein lies the genius of these books.
A fun read for kids and adults alike.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story--offering an "explaination" for why there are no trees in Iceland. Most kids don't know that there aren't trees in Iceland, so that is a new fact, but the story is really charming even without the Iceland element. Particularly appealing are the illustrations, which nicely complement the story, which is quite humorous!

[Alicia Jones]

This creative tale by McMillan gives the endearing story of how ladies in Iceland were able to stop the wind. This book not only tells a story but also provides some geographical information that could be useful for readers. It is a great story to help children learn about what it takes to endure and be determined in life.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

An original porquoi tale to explain why there are no trees in the countryside of Iceland. These Icelandic women planted trees to block the wind...but the sheep keep eating them. The women don't give up, though, and do their best to find a solution.

Character ed: Could be used to show determination and persistence.

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the third story for a class visit, that they picked for me to read. It is very windy and some ladies decide to do something about it. This one is shorter than the rest and might work for an older story time of 4 and 5 year olds.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming folktale set in Iceland, with delightful art. But I wish Bruce McMillan would go back to doing his wonderful photographic concept books, or would at least manange to get them reissued!

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

strange book. girls seemed to like it though?

[Katrina Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My child and I enjoyed this book when I read it to him at bedtime. Who knew that trees could stop the wind?

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iceland + sheep + fun illustrations = a unique shareable books that demonstrates just a little bit about Iceland. A place many children probably have never heard of before.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iceland, Wind, Sheep, Cows, trees and the return of the Chickens. Delightful. :)

[Katy Klein]

In this book the ladies of Iceland need to come up with a solution for the strong wind that blows them away in their village. So, they order trees and ask the chickens to make fertilizer to help the trees grow fast. However, as soon as the trees start sprouting their blossoms, the sheep come and eat them. So the women ask the cows to keep the sheep away from the trees. The cows help and the trees grow tall and strong to stop the wind.
This wasn't my favorite book. I liked the story but I did not like the pictures.
I would use this book when talking about folktales. I would have my students compare and contrast it to a different folktale from another country.