Hello, Rain!

March 15, 2021
Preschool-Grade 1 *Starred Review* Grab some galoshes and raid the lost and found for umbrellas because readers will be enamored with inclement weather after reading this beautiful book. It begins with the "plink, plunk, plonk" of drops falling onto a yellow house, a young Asian girl's smiling face plastered to the front window, her short hair gathered into pert pigtails, her pup at her side. Together they get ready to go outside--yellow raincoats for both girl and dog, followed by rubber boots and a large multi-colored umbrella. Amid a jostling crowd, "umbrellas bloom" and the rain ("Deluge, downpour, / sprinkle, storm, / a drizzle, a mizzle.") collects into a large puddle into which the girl gleefully jumps. The story's language and illustrations are wonderfully matched, as both capture the dual wonders on display: that of nature and that felt by the girl. Created digitally, Turnham's artwork has the appearance of watercolors awash in muted summer tones--coral, plum, sky blue--and it zooms in on the little things that capture the girl's attention throughout her wanderings, from accentuated raindrops to a wriggling worm to the glistening green that comes after the rain. Maclear's playful use of alliteration, consonance, and onomatopoeia make this a joy to read aloud and a more realistic, but no less enchanting, companion to Beatrice Alemagna's On a Magical Do-Nothing Day (2017).

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April 1, 2021
A child and pet dog relish a rainy day. Child and pet stare out the window as clouds gather. Excitedly, as the rain goes "plink, plunk, plonk" on the rooftop, the child dons a raincoat and boots and grabs an umbrella. (Even the dog gets a rain jacket.) The pair delight in the sensory adventure that is play in the rain: They ponder words for rain, the creatures who seek it, and the growing things nourished by it; jump in puddles; launch paper boats near a "curbside waterfall"; and find a quiet spot under a tree to sit for "whisper-talk." When thunder and lightning fill the sky, they run inside to get warm and dry. In text that begs to be shared aloud, evocative figurative language ("the air is full of waiting" and "umbrellas bloom"), a heaping dose of onomatopoeia ("Crack! Flash!"), and delicious vocabulary (deluge, drizzle, and bursting) vividly animate the thrill of heading outside when "the sky is an adventure." The illustrations themselves burst with life, movement, and mirth. Cerulean (for the rain) and yellow (for raincoats) hues enchant. One especially pleasing spread gives readers an aerial view of flowers, fruits, and vegetables that benefit from the drink that is the cool, fresh rain. Afterward, the sun and even a rainbow dazzle: "Hello, Sun!" The child has rosy-cheeked pink skin and straight, black hair in pigtails. A joyous tribute to the wonders of a rainy day for the pluviophile in all of us. (Picture book. 3-7)

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