30 Days of Diverse Picture Books - Rain! by Linda Ashman

It's Day 19 of our 30 Days of Diverse Picture Books. Can't quite believe that the month is going as quickly as it is, but the weather certainly seems like November. We've had some beautiful (but cold) days here in the Pacific Northwest, though I hear rain is not that far off. Sprout's anxious for snow, but I think that's going to be a while yet.

Tonight's pick is a weather-related one: Rain! by Linda Ashman. We seem to find a lot of books about rain in our travels - not sure if that's just because there's a good audience for such titles in our area, or if there really are a lot of them out there. No matter, though, because they've been some of our favorites, and Rain! definitely can be added to that list. This jubilant title is the perfect way to make a dreary day turn around.

Ashman's written a great intergenerational story, and she's done it with the fewest of words, making this a terrific choice for emerging readers. The two main characters are an older gentleman who's in a grumpy mood because of the weather, and a young boy who just loves it, even pretending to be a frog. I love the contrast here, and the way that the boy's infectious attitude manages to turn the grouchy guy completely around. Christian Robinson's art accompanies Ashman's text, and the graphics truly couldn't be better. If the real world looked like Robinson's version, no one could possibly be in a bad mood, even on a rainy day.

Next time the weather turns gray, don't pout - instead, grab a copy of Rain! and figure out how to turn all those puddles into opportunities for play!

Rain! by Linda Ashman, published by Houghton Mifflin