From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1—A young Asian girl muses about an early spring rain and how various animals and things are affected, playing a guessing game with readers and expressing her own delight in puddle jumping. Told in lilting rhyme—"Raindrops falling/Down in spring./Hit the awning,/
ping-ping-ping!"—it's a perfect read-aloud for preschoolers and simple enough for beginning readers. Soft, gentle illustrations in acrylics capture the child's joy and make readers almost feel the pelting rain. A lovely choice for spring storytimes.—
Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
*Starred Review* Yee's unassuming picture book evokes the simple joys of an April shower in a wonderfully childlike way. A little girl sits indoors, seemingly trapped in her house by the weather and asking her mother, "Who wants rain?" She finds her own answers after she dons a slicker, a hat, and boots and ventures outdoors. There she discovers that the rain is welcome to many different plants and animals, though not to all. The rhyming text tells the story as naturally as if the rhythm and rhyme just fell into place. On alternate pages, the girl observes the rain in the world around her and asks riddling questions, such as "When it rains, / Who's the first to scat? / I know! Do you? / Mew, mew . . . / It's the cat!" Children who are not usually attracted to quiet picture books will find themselves first drawn in by the guessing game and then rewarded by the entire experience. Fine strokes of color softly define the shapes of characters and settings, visually expressing the many sensory images found in the verse. From a rather sedate child in the first few pictures, the girl gradually changes into an energetic figure actively exploring and discovering how rain transforms her familiar world. Simple and engaging.
Carolyn PhelanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
