Rain
By Sam Usher
Templar, 2017
In “Rain,” the young boy narrator
wakes up and can’t wait to go outside to play in the rain. He loves catching
raindrops, splashing in puddles, and seeing everything upside down in reflections.
But Granddad says it is best to
stay indoors, so the narrator reads and looks out the window watching the rain.
It keeps raining and raining.
The boy tells Granddad he’d like
to go on a voyage with sea monsters, but Granddad says, “Let’s just wait for
the rain to stop.”
He keeps watching and waiting,
but the rain doesn’t stop. Granddad is busy going through the mail, and
writing. The boy reads books about adventure, and looks outside the window.
He tells Granddad he wants to
visit the floating city with acrobats and carnivals and musical boatmen.
Finally, Granddad says, “Quick!
Let’s go – I need to get this in the mail!” The boy looks out the window and
the rain has stopped.
They go to the mailbox, but the
boy imagines they’re on a boat and sees all the things he’s dreamed about in a
wild, colorful adventure.
Back at home, they drink hot chocolate
and warm up, and the boy hopes it rains again tomorrow.
The story is simple, but the watercolor-washed
ink drawings are magical. When the boy and his grandfather go outdoors, the wild,
colorful spreads delightfully illustrate the narrator’s imagination. Young children
will love it.
About the Author/Illustrator
Sam Usher’s first
book, Can You See Sassoon?, was
long-listed for the Kate Greenaway Medal and short-listed for the Red House Children’s Book Award and the
Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize. Snow, the companion book to Rain, was long-listed for the Kate Greenaway
Medal. Usher lives in London.
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