I woke up to the sound of soft rain this morning and savored the small moment. It made me think of a lovely book that all our Berkeley school libraries have:
Rain, by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Christian Robinson. I absolutely adore this book, especially for the way both author and illustrator notice small moments.
Rain
by Linda Ashman
illustrated by Christian Robinson
Houghton Mifflin, 2013
Your local library
Amazon
ages 4-8
Rain tells the story of two very different people’s reaction to a rainy day. The illustrations are full of details that kids notice and can talk about. A happy little boy and a grumpy old man wake up to a rainy morning, and each immediately react to the prospect of putting on their rain gear. The old man says, “Nasty galoshes. Blasted overcoat.” The little guy, on the other hand, tells his mom, “It’s raining frogs and pollywogs!”
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| interior from Rain, by Linda Ashman & Christian Robinson |
They each go their own way until they meet in a cafe. Kids will love noticing what happens when the little boy offers his cookie to the old man. Will the grumpy old man refuse, or will the young boy’s enthusiasm win the day?
I loved talking with students about how the author noticed small moment details in the dialog and how the artist noticed small moment details in his illustrations. Students are talking about "small moments" as they craft their own stories, as a way to flesh out details in creative writing. Our 2nd graders noticed so many details, from the emotions of other customers in the cafe, to the interactions between the boy and the shop keeper.
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| Christian Robinson at Emerson, May 2014 |
The illustrator
Christian Robinson visited all Berkeley elementary schools last year, thanks to a grant from the
Berkeley Public Schools Fund, and so many students will be able to remember the story and meeting the artist. He is absolutely delightful.
For a bit of fun, check out his website:
theartoffun.com and notice how small moments can be captured in words as well as pictures. This image (from Robinson’s
Fall 2014 Publisher’s Weekly cover) is not from the book, but it is a small moment that has me smiling this morning.
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| Christian Robinson at Emerson School, May 2014 |
The review copy comes from our school library. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.
©2014 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books
Sounds lovely, and what a great way to incorporate it into the classroom. Thanks for sharing.
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