Review by Booklist Review
When a heavy rainstorm ruins the parade in Jazmin's neighborhood, she is furious at the pouring skies. The exhilaration of the storm is at the center of Boswell's debut picture book, and illustrator Velasquez is at his best in the dynamic unframed spreads that show the African American kid on her city street, leaping and shaking her arms at the gray stormy skies. When Jazmin tries to stomp on the storm, her wild activity gets the neighborhood kids out to join her, and they all splash, leap, bang, bash, and clatter on the sidewalk. The wordplay is part of the joyful uproar; Jazmin's stomping makes the kids pour out of the houses and flood the streets.Together, the words and pictures nicely express Jazmin's anger and energy, and her splashing action will have young preschoolers shouting along.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-It's the first day of spring and Jazmin, dressed in red and twirling her baton, is all set to lead the neighborhood parade. She flings the door open and encounters a big problem: the weather. Wind and thunder are followed by rain: "Slap! Rain poured down in buckets." Thus begins Jazmin's tale of disappointment and frustration as she waits for the storm to stop. "Mud Puddler...Cloud Crasher...Parade Wrecker," she complains as the rain roars, crashes, and bellows. Mounting frustration leads Jazmin to step outside and shake her fists at the rain and stomp her feet. But frustration gives way to fun as she kicks and chases the rain down the sidewalk: "I am Jazmin, the Rain Stomper!" Other youngsters come outside to watch; they urge her on, laughing and clapping. By the time Jazmin has finished, the sun has come out and the cheering children end up having their parade after all. "And so it was that Jazmin, the Rain Stomper...outstomped the rain." Velasquez's large oils impart a sense of the girl's disappointment as well as the feel of a driving rain and eventual pleasure. Large letters in white, black, or red and in different sizes emphasize the sounds and rhythm of the rain and thunder ("BOOM walla BOOM BOOM!"; "clink, clink WHOOSH!"). A delightful read-aloud that deals with making the best of a disappointing situation.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
It's the first day of spring, and Jazmin can't wait for the big parade. Donning her new uniform, the young majorette twirls her baton, but as she steps outside, the wind whistles, thunder rumbles and rain begins to pour. The storm sends a disheartened Jazmin back inside to mope and wait. But the rain begins to reveal a rhythm: "TAP / tippity / TAP / TAP." Boswell intersperses a series of onomatopoeic words throughout the narrative to turn the falling drops into the percussive beat of a marching drum: "BOOM / walla / BOOM BOOM." Jazmin, feeling the rain's euphonious call, stomps and splashes her way into the street until she's spinning and skipping to the falling rain. Velasquez stretches his photographic reference to create hyperrealistic perspectives, effectively capturing Jazmin's defiant dance. Words slap against the city sidewalk, as text flows into images and the artwork's lines stream across the page. While there may be too many "TAT / rattle / rattle / TAT"-type sequences, Boswell nevertheless shows how the spirit can overcome a rained-on parade. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
