Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Making their English-language debut, married duo Ohnari and Hata tell the story of a young person's encounter with a summer rainstorm. One scorching day, "the ground's burning hot," the sun casting brilliant light and sharp shadows as thunderclouds roll in. The rain begins ("BADA-BADA-BADA. PLIP. PLIP. BADA"), dripping on the child's big yellow umbrella. "My umbrella's a drum!" the East Asian--cued protagonist exclaims as text renders enthusiastic onomatopoeia in bright yellow type whose size conveys volume. The rain becomes a downpour, and the sounds intensify. "There are so many sounds. The rain is singing!" the child says. A new spread shows the action amid insect-covered greenery in which the raindrops become size-distorting lenses. Water splashes up as the figure relinquishes the umbrella, jumping in puddles and raising their face to the deluge. Soon, the shower is over, and the child finds a way to re-create the event indoors. Spreads and text voice the energy and joy of perceiving a storm as a part of the world that's very much alive: "Everything's sopping wet. But sopping wet feels good." Ages 3--6. (Mar.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Toddler-K--It's rare that a book can capture all five senses so intensely. A joy to read aloud, this book follows a young boy as a rainstorm commences. His senses open and blossom in the pouring rain, and he comes to view the storm as a close friend, someone who he looks forward to seeing again even as the rain ends. Translated from the Japanese, this book is perfect for read-alouds and can be viewed as performance literature for story hours or in the classroom. It's filled with plips, plops, splooshes, and pleks, all of which work together to create a raucous verbal symphony. The story and artwork entice young readers to perceive the rain as an invitation to engage the natural world as one would engage with a companion, and to let loose one's own innate sense of playfulness. The artwork truly gushes happiness. Joy is expressed not only in the child's character, but in the rain and water itself. Scenes in which the character is immersed in intense, falling rain are the most evocative. Young readers are going to want to play in the rain--well beyond puddle-hopping, this book embraces and centers nature in our lives. VERDICT Lots of fun! Readers and educators will never look at rain in quite the same way again. Highly recommended.--Benjamin Ludwig
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Review by Horn Book Review
Vivid illustrations and enthusiastic prose evoke the surprise and awe of a summer rainstorm in this Japanese import. A child narrator peers out the front door to scowl at the weather; the neighborhood trees and buildings are flat and saturated, with wavy edges implying heat radiating off the "hot, hot!" pavement. It's too hot to have much fun, until dark clouds roll in, rain falls, and the child is enchanted by the sights, sounds, and sensations of the sudden deluge. As the storm gathers force, the artistic style softens, the rain bringing more shading and loose texture to the double-page spreads. The rain's gentle "Plip! Plip! Plip!" builds into a frantic percussion, the onomatopoeic sounds spelled out in bright yellow text against the darkening sky. The engaging art is punctuated by our narrator's canny, lyrical observations -- "My umbrella's a drum"; "The rain is singing!"; "Raindrops...run down my cheeks, my eyelids, and past my ears. A slide!" Shifts in visual perspective -- such as an ultra-close-up view of raindrops bouncing off the ground that give way to a peek under the child's yellow umbrella from below -- invite viewers to share in the delight that is so clear in the narrator's face. A joyful and refreshing multisensory experience. Jessica Tackett MacDonaldMay/June 2025 p.68 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An onomatopoeic account of the joys of a sudden summer rain. The weather is "hot, hot," and though the book's East Asian--presenting protagonist is initially perturbed by the downpour, the little one soon comes to appreciate it. The child notices new odors--the smell of the sky and of the ground--and sounds as droplets splatter against a yellow umbrella: "The rain is singing!" The youngster abandons the umbrella, gleefully accepting the rain's invitation ("Let's play!"), leaping and splashing barefoot in puddles. Translated from Japanese, the text is filled with a grand variety of made-up sounds, which would be great fun to read aloud, with a little practice: "KER-BABABA. ZUBABABABA. PLIP-PLOONK. KER-PLUNK. PLOOPOOPOOPOOPOOP." Depicting an idyllic suburban setting and making use of dramatic angles, Hata's illustrations would show well to a group. His portrayal of rain reveals close attention to detail; in some scenes, long gray lines fall from the sky, while in others, we're treated to fat, shimmering droplets. The child's enjoyment is clear through words, action, and body language, even as the little one stands huddled against the escalating downpour. "Sopping wet feels good." Eventually the weather clears up, but it's clear that the rain is welcome anytime: The book ends on a whimsical note, with the child seated in a bathtub, holding the yellow umbrella up against a shower of cascading water. A delightful, sensory-rich appreciation of a childhood pleasure.(Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
