I Love the Rain
PreSchool-Grade 1–Molly hates the rain but her friend revels in it. Putting her umbrella aside, Sophie exclaims, "What's so great about being dry?" As the girls wait for the school bus, Molly is eventually caught up in her pal's imaginative vision of the weather's effects. As leaves get swept like runaway rafts down the street gutter, Molly gamely adds, "Rafts for ants?" Now she joins in the fun as they pretend to ride racecar raindrops down the bus window or lead a parade down the steamy street with rain like confetti on their faces. Molly's Mom's warning, "â€˜Careful, girls! You're going to get all wet!'" allows her daughter to hark back to Sophie's initial statement and to declare her newfound love for the rain. The sensual text has an easygoing, almost stream-of-consciousness flow. Although it is occasionally challenging to determine who is speaking, the overall reading experience is one of poetry in motion. The loose, scratchy pen-and-ink drawings, augmented with vibrant watercolors, lend an evocative atmosphere to the text. The girls with their brightly colored umbrellas provide contrast to the more subdued saturated backgrounds. The author and artist have created both a concrete and an interpretive vision that captures the delight of childhood and an appreciation for nature.–Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.