When the Wind Stops is a lovely story about how everything moves on, be it a dandelion seed, a mountain, or a season, and how in changing, nothing is lost. A little boy regrets the end of his day, and so his mother explains that all things change to become something else, that nothing ever ends. A cloud that he sees goes to offer shade somewhere else, a wave that breaks on the shore is sucked back into the sea. His day becomes night, so that he might rest and dream, but somewhere else, it is a new morning.

When the Wind Stops encourages children to think beyond their own moment of experience, one of the larger steps of moral development. Zolotow sounds an implicit call to responsibility; if nothing is lost or destroyed, if everything is retained whether it is within our sphere of perception or not, then the ways that we impact our environment are part of a continual story. At the same time, she reassures children that they and the things that they love have meaning, and that though they will change and grow, they will never be lost. Zolotow shares two of the most important keys to a joyful life -- to know that what we cherish will be cherished forever, and to know that how we live is all part of one inseparable, eternal story -- and while young children may not understand the book in these terms, they will feel the safety, connection, and with a little encouragement, the responsibility that When the Wind Stops inspires.