Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Silver Falls Library | JP BRIDGES | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Molly hates rainy days. The gray sky, the soggy wait for the school bus, they seem to make everyone grumpy. Everyone except her friend Sophie, who shows Molly the magic she has been missing.
The simple, poetic language in this lovely book takes readers on a journeyfrom the girls' first tentative steps into the drizzle to a rain-drenched romp in a puddle. The lyrical text is perfectly matched by the joyful watercolor paintings, which capture not only the color and beauty of a rainy day, but the warm interactions of the girls' blossoming friendship. An exuberant homage to finding pleasure where it's unexpected, the power of imagination, and the joys of friendship, I Love the Rain will have readers singing, "Sun, sun, go away!"
Author Notes
Margaret Park Bridges has written several books for children. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters.
As a young girl, Christine Davenier spent many hours painting with her grandmother in the garden. Since then, she has illustrated many books for children. Known for her joyfully whimsical pen-and-ink watercolor style, Christine lives with her daughter in F
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
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. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
When Molly and Sophie take the bus home from school on a rainy afternoon, Sophie encourages her initially glum friend to celebrate the rain, challenging her to see "a face with raindrop freckles" in a puddle and "rafts for ants" in the leaves floating in the gutter. Molly enters into Sophie's celebratory mood, hearing tap dancers in the raindrops on the bus roof, and feeling the rain drops as "kisses from the sky." "What's so great about being dry?" Molly concludes, "I love the rain!" The lively and colorful watercolor sketches may be the best part of this earnest celebration of the joys of rain. "What's so great about being dry?" Well, to put a damper on the exuberance, being wet can be cold and uncomfortable, a thought this book does not entertain. This overly determined splash-dash celebration of rain doesn't quite float as either a story or a mood piece. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
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 0 (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. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2005 Booklist