rain

4 Stormy and Puddly New Picture Books

| Tasha

Island Storm by Brian Floca, illustrated by Sydney Smith (9780823456475)

Two siblings set off to watch a thunderstorm arrive at their island home. They walk through the forest to the beach where the waves grow bigger and crash on the shore. They pull one another onward, following the road along the water as the wind gets stronger.  They keep on going, past the lighthouse and into the empty town. The storm arrives with a Boom! And now the children head quickly back home the way they came, finally arriving to a worried adult, dry towels and light. 

Floca captures the wonder, joy and thrill of being out in a storm as we follow these two children on their adventure. Throughout, there is a sense of a building pressure from the storm that is released in a very satisfying way for the reader. Floca plays with language and structure throughout, using repetition to build the story’s drama. The illustrations by award-winning Smith are a great match to the text, creating movement across the page, embracing the growing darkness, and sharing the adventure the children are having. 

A wonderfully dramatic picture book, this one would be perfect for windy nights. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Seven Skies All at Once by Ted Kooser, illustrated by Matt Myers (9781536229004)

The skies overhead are changing from “freshly washed” to potential rain in this picture book by a master poet that is a celebration of clouds.The clouds change as they are reflected in glass buildings or peeked at between tall buildings. Readers will watch the storm arrive as Kooser uses child-friendly laundry metaphors for the various cloud formations and the darkness of the stormy sky. 

Kooser’s poetic skill is fully on display as he creates magic with his wording and invites children to look up and see the beauty of the skies above them whatever the clouds may be doing at the time. The illustrations by Myers pick up on the laundry theme without overplaying it, showing two children who form a connection across rooftops. 

Gorgeous words and art combine to form a beauty of a storm. Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

When the Dark Clouds Come by Danielle Ridolfi (9780063413344)

A hot sunny summer day is transformed when the dark clouds move in. The wind picks up making the grasses sway and picking up leaves and seeds. Rain dances and darkens the sidewalk. Then a flash and thunder. There is safety inside as the storm continues through the night. In the morning, the sun returns as the clouds leave the sky. 

Told in short lines, this poetic picture book ties nature’s storms subtly to human emotions. The language here is emotive and gorgeous while staying accessible to young readers: “thunder rolls down the stairs like a tumbling snore.” The illustrations done in digital collage capture the light, darkness and drama of the storm. 

A thunderously good picture book. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Quill Tree Books.

when the world is puddle-wonderful by e. e. cummings, illustrated by Blanca Gómez (9781324086871)

This incredibly inviting collection of cummings poetry is pure delight. Every single poem brings a smile to the face at his masterful wordplay, willingness to chop words into pieces, and the dance of poetic structure across the page. Children will be charmed by each poem, enjoy the absurdities and playfulness of cummings’ work, and find themselves inspired to try to write some modern poems themselves. The collection moves through the year from balloons to horses to the sea to Halloween and then snow. 

The illustrations are delightfully playful as well with smiling diverse children who have a toy-like quality to them. The illustrations are bright, colorful and add to the modern feel of the book while also having a rather timeless feel, just like cummings’ poems. 

A wonderful book of wordplay and poetry. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Norton Young Readers.

Me & Mama by Cozbi A. Cabrera

| Tasha

Me & Mama by Cozbi A Cabrera

Me & Mama by Cozbi A. Cabrera (9781534454217)

Mama greets the little girl who narrates this story when she comes down early in the morning. The others are still sleeping on the rainy morning. They decide to head outside into the rain together. First they must get ready with drinks from their cups, teeth brushing, showers and hair combing. Then it’s time for breakfast and barrettes in their hair. They head out into the rainy morning with boots, umbrellas and raincoats. Max, the dog, doesn’t need any of those things. Together they sing and splash. In the evening, there are stories, laughter and cozy blankets that lead to dreams filled with moments from their day together.

My summary above skims the surface of this picture book that deeply explores the relationship of mother and daughter. Cabrera deftly uses language to explain the connection between these two: “I want to be everywhere Mama is.” She also uses lovely comparisons by the little girl who looks at their boots, hair, laugh and other elements of their day and sees how similar and different they are. It’s a beautiful look at the small pieces of our days that create such deep connectivity.

Cabrera’s art is done in acrylics, illustrations that are filled with deep bright colors that glow on the page. They too reveal the connections between the characters, deepening them even further than the words can.

A marvelous mother and daughter book. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Review: The Biggest Puddle in the World by Mark Lee

| Tasha

The Biggest Puddle in the World by Mark Lee

The Biggest Puddle in the World by Mark Lee, illustrated by Nathalie Dion (9781554989799)

A little girl and her brother Charlie were staying with their grandparents for six days. On the first day, the spent time exploring the big old house. Then it started to rain. It rained the entire second day, as they continued to explore the house. It rained the entire third day, which they spent playing dress-up. The girl asked her grandfather, Big T, where the rain comes from. He promised to show her when the rain stopped and when they had found the biggest puddle. The next day, the sun was out and the children joined their grandfather outside. On their walk to find the biggest puddle, they explored small puddles, a stream, a pond and finally found the sea! Along the way, their grandfather explained the water cycle with evaporation, the clouds, rain and bodies of water.

Lee combines a science lesson with a fictional picture book very successfully here. The initial story of children visiting grandparents is filled with lovely moments of play and connection. The children may be bored at times, but they also find ways to spend their time even as rain comes down all around the house. When the sun returns, the world opens up to them and their adventures becomes less imagination and more real. The facts shared about the water cycle are shown as part of their walk and a natural conversation. Dion’s illustrations are light and filled with a sense of movement and air. The gray rainy days spent inside contrast beautifully with the sunshine of the outdoor pages.

A quiet picture book about family, weather and water. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Groundwood Books.

Review: Rain by Anders Holmer

| Tasha

Rain by Anders Holmer

Rain by Anders Holmer (9780802855077)

Haiku tells the story of different types of rain in this poetry picture book. The haiku are all about nature, some about rain directly and others about other things like falling newspapers or cascading petals. The poems form a series of vignettes that show different parts of the world and various environments from the arctic to the Himalayas to the desert. They are bound together with the rhythms of the poems and the journey together to explore rain and our world.

The haiku poems range from solemn to merry, some carrying serious weight and others lighter. They mirror the weather, some with lightning and dark clouds while others fill with pink petals and friendship. The illustrations themselves are large and have the feel of traditional tales mixed with a modern edge. They show different parts of the world and take readers on a fascinating journey as rain descends on each page and yet each type of rain is different from the others.

A skilled book of haiku that explores our wide world and the nature we find there. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

This Beautiful Day by Richard Jackson

| Tasha

This Beautiful Day by Richard Jackson

This Beautiful Day by Richard Jackson, illustrated by Suzy Lee (9781481441391, Amazon)

Three children are spending a gray day inside as it pours rain. Then they start to dance and twirl, pulling blue into their day. They head outside with umbrellas and boots, walking through puddles, jumping and stomping. The rain ends and other come out with yellow and pink umbrellas and clothes, the colors starting to fill the page. Their umbrellas float up into the sky that is now blue with white clouds. The group of children play together in the field of flowers, climbing trees, rescuing umbrellas, and then treats back at home on a lovely day.

Jackson’s text is filled with motion and rhythm. It invites readers to swirl and twirl with the characters on the page. The action words in the text zing and zip, moving the book forward even as they celebrate the bad weather and move to the sunshine. There is a sense of optimism throughout the book, an acceptance and joy of rainy weather and then a true delight when it becomes sunny later.

Lee’s illustrations are lovely. They use color so skillfully, showing first the gray day while the children are quietly playing alone and then the single swirls of blue that color the children and their clothing. The book slowly unfolds with color, until it bursts like the meadow of flowers and the sun in the trees.

Share this one on rainy and sunny days. Just have umbrellas and boots ready along with popsicles too. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum.

 

Home in the Rain by Bob Graham

| Tasha

Home in the Rain by Bob Graham

Home in the Rain by Bob Graham (9780763692698, Amazon)

Francie and her mother are headed home from Grandma’s house. It rains and rains. It rains enough that a big truck washes their car into a picnic area. Nearby, the rain hits rabbits, mice and a hawk. It rains on fishermen and ducks. Francie and her mother wait in the car, the windows steaming up. Francie writes their names on the windows. She asks her mother what her new baby sister’s name will be when she arrives, but her mother doesn’t know yet. They eat a picnic in the car together and then they pull back onto the road and continue home. When they stop to get gas, Francie’s mother decides on her little sister’s name and the sun returns to light their way home.

Graham has written a lovely picture book that is more complicated than it seems. It is the story of a little red car heading home. It’s the story of a family about to get one person bigger. It is the story of names and inspiration. It’s the story of rain and water and weather. Graham ties all of these elements together into one precious rain-soaked bundle that really works. It is bursting with the love of family on every page.

Graham’s illustrations are done in his signature style. The characters are people of color and their car becomes a haven and a busy room filled with small details. The book then pulls away to the countryside and their small car seen from above. The rain sweeps the pages and the animals appear. The play of close comfort in the car with wide scenery captures the wildness of the storm and strengthens the intimacy of the family.

A special book that looks at those delicate moments before the birth of a new baby, this picture book celebrates family and storms. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Secrets I Know by Kallie George

| Tasha

Secrets I Know by Kallie George

Secrets I Know by Kallie George, illustrated by Paola Zakimi (9781101938935, Amazon)

A little girl spends a rainy day playing in her backyard and sharing secrets with the reader. She knows lots of secrets like secrets are for whispering and whispers hide in trees. She uses the tree as an umbrella and then her umbrella as a boat for her toys. She and her puppy play in the sandbox and have a tea party there, the sunshine sweetening the tea. A friend joins her and they play dress up and then head outside to the trees once again when darkness falls and the stars come out.

George writes with a poetic simplicity here. In the little girl’s voice, she chains together the different experiences she is having, each one leading naturally to the next. It’s rather like a daisy-chain of a picture book spent outside and having a wonderful time whether on her own or with a friend.

Zakimi’s illustrations are detailed and filled with warmth. The blustery and rainy day is shown as an opportunity to play outside and have fun, not as anything that limits activities. Even darkness can’t stop the little girl from enjoying herself outdoors as stars fill the sky. The use of just one backyard as the canvas for the day shows how large imagination can be and how much fun can be had.

A simple book with lots of big ideas, this picture book shows how any day can be a special one. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley received from Edelweiss and Schwartz & Wade Books.

Rain by Sam Usher

| Tasha

Rain by Sam Usher

Rain by Sam Usher (9781783705467, Amazon)

Sam and his Grandpa are spending a rainy day together. Sam wants to head out into the rain, but Grandpa asks that they wait until the rain stops. Sam spends the time reading books, drinking hot chocolate and dreaming of adventures. Meanwhile, Grandpa writes at the table and eventually has a very important letter ready to put in the mail. The rain ends just in time for them to have the adventure together that Sam has been dreaming of.

Usher has combined the tedium of waiting for the weather to change with the pleasure of escape into imagination. Sam waits reluctantly for the weather to change and yet manages to amuse himself without devices or television during the long wait. Merrily, the imagination and reality merge towards the end of the picture book, as Grandpa and Sam float directly into his dreams.

The illustrations are particularly effective. Usher creates a crispness in the interior images, filled with details done in fine lines and bright colors. Through the windows though, readers can see the weather. Outside the streets are awash in smears of light and color, filled with rain and raindrops. There is a real sense of a wash of water happening in the street and the light plays across the puddles realistically and beautifully.

A rainy day book brightened by a fantastic adventure. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Templar Publishing.

Review: Float by Daniel Miyares

| Tasha

Float by Daniel Miyares

Float by Daniel Miyares (InfoSoup)

This wordless picture book has a boy creating a boat from newspapers that he then takes outside. The sky is dark with rain clouds and the boy protects the paper boat from the sudden downpour with his rain slicker. Then he floats the boat in a quiet puddle. When he lets it into the fast flowing water in the gutter, it scoots away from him, across the road, and down into the sewer. The boy goes to a bridge and sees the limp newspaper page come out of the drainpipe into the pond. It is all droopy and limp, just like the disappointed boy. He heads home, gets dried off, has some cocoa, and then it is back to the  newspapers, this time to make something for the sunny day outside.

Beautifully paced with luminous illustrations, this wordless picture book is filled with simple pleasures. From experiencing the joy of a good rainstorm to having a paper boat that floats so gracefully, the joy is tangible in the early part of the book. Then with the boat racing away from the boy, the pace quickens and the pages turn faster. Readers will know what is going to happen, but hope and hope that it won’t. But it does. The ending of being warm and dry again, with an adult helping and caring for him, makes for a book that celebrates the freedom of playing alone outside but also the importance of having a loving home to return to.

The illustrations are particularly fine. Gray and misty, they embrace the rain and the weather. The boy is a dart of bright yellow on each page, the boat a mix of pastel blues and pinks that sets it apart as well. There is a strong sense of movement on the page from the falling rain to the rushing water. The endpages of the book have folding instructions for both a boat and a paper plane.

A book about playing outside and the joy of nature, this wordless picture book is perfect for rainy days. Just make sure you have plenty of newspaper around. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.