The Troublesome Cloud

<p><em style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>The Troublesome Cloud</em><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> is a four-act illustrated poetic allegory from the mind of artist author and English/History professor Ryan Minor. The story which is both whimsical and touching features a lovable yet melancholic creature as it navigates the arrival of a pesky and unrelenting raincloud. As the pages unfolds readers follow this unnamed creature across a variety of settings as it attempts to shake its unwanted companion through one ridiculous scenario after another.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Minor's background art which is made up of thousands of mostly black and white scratches lines and crosshatchings creates a stark rough-around-the-edges world that is both haunting and inviting. Minor builds on these bleak monochromatic land/sea scapes with a rich tapestry of humorous yet somber rhyming poetic vocabulary that describe the often-thwarted endeavors of the creature itself (who appears in colorful brown and orange tones throughout the pages). The combined result of these images and words is a fantastical journey that feels surprisingly relatable to the very real universal human experience of dealing with and attempting to find a way through unexpected and often unwanted change.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Overall </span><em style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>The Troublesome Cloud</em><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> is a funny somber and thought provoking fable in the tradition of authors / illustrators Edward Gorey Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein that resonates with a wide range of readers across all ages.</span></p><p></p>