I Love the Rain

June 1, 2005
PreS-Gr 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, - -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, MI"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2005
PreS-Gr. 2. "I hate the rain!" grumbles red-haired Molly, huddled miserably under her red umbrella. "What's so great about being dry?" asks her friend Sophie, umbrella down and mouth open to catch the raindrops. As the girls make their way home from school, exuberant Sophie encourages Molly to spark her imagination and see gleaming beauty and fun games in the rainy streets: leaves floating down the gutter are "rafts for ants"; raindrops charging down the school bus windows are race cars. By the time Molly's mother meets the girls at the bus stop, a soaking wet, delighted Molly is dancing and singing. Davenier's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations, reminiscent of the artist's striking work in C. M. Millen's " Low-Down Laundry Line Blues " (1999), beautifully capture a girl's transformation from drooping depression to high-spirited joy with just a few swooping lines. Teachers and parents will want this to liven up gloomy, rainy-day story hours or to start discussions about moods and feelings: the spare text's lively dialogue will read well to a crowd. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2005
The narrator says she hates rain, but after her friend describes its virtues (e.g., the street steams "like plates of fresh, hot pasta!"), the narrator is sold. The giddy story, told almost entirely in dialogue, is as much a celebration of imagination and friendship as of rain. Davenier captures the girls' exuberance with her unmistakable ink and watercolor art.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)