Cleo loves clouds. She has drawn them, painted them, and sculpted them — and now, to open her very own cloud museum, she needs a real one. Not a wispy cirrus, a rain-heavy nimbus, or a sky-covering stratus, but the puffiest, fluffiest cumulus cloud of all.

So, Cleo gathers her cloud-catching equipment and sets to work. She races and chases, creeps and casts, waves and whirls — but cumulus clouds, it turns out, are far too high and much too fast. Then, just as she is ready to give up, the tiniest, silver-tufted cloud of all drifts gently into her open hand.

Cleo has her cloud at last. But as she pictures it shut away for everyone to peer and prod at she begins to wonder: is a museum really the best place for a cloud?

Introducing the different kinds of clouds along the way, A Cloud for Cleo is a heartwarming, gentle picture book about curiosity, determination, and discovery — and the joy of setting something free. Brought to life in Nicky Johnston's whimsical watercolor illustrations, it is a perfect storytime read for budding scientists, dreamers, and nature lovers ages 4 to 8.