Uncle Rain Cloud

by Tony Johnston, Fabricio Vanden Broeck (Illustrator)

In this inspiring story, young Carlos learns that change effects everyone, even his uncle. Uncle Tomàs does not speak English and does not adjust well to his new life in Los Angeles. To him, English is "El Blah-blah," and he is frustrated and ashamed by his inability to communicate. He is always grouchy–like a thunderstorm about to break. But, Carlos is held spellbound by his stories about old Mexico and the tongue-twister gods. How can this brilliant man be afraid like Carlos was when he first went to school and couldn't speak English very well? In time, Carlos and Uncle Tomàs form a partnership–Carlos teaching Uncle Tomàs English and Uncle Tomàs teaching Carlos about his ancestors

Uncle Rain Cloud is a heartwarming story of friendship and courage told in rich, poetic language and given dramatic spirit by Fabricio VandenBroeck's vivid, expressive illustrations. The colors and styles of the Aztec culture bring the ancient gods alive in the imaginations of the readers.

Genres: Picture Books, Realistic Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published February 3, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Tony Johnston has written many acclaimed books for young people. She and her husband lived in Mexico for fifteen years, where they raised their children. She now lives in San Marino, California.

Reviews

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an Americas Award 2001 Commended Title. In this story, this family has moved to Los Angeles, and the uncle is very unhappy. He does not like that everyone speaks English, and he definitely doesn't like that his nephew, Carlos, is speaking English more often than he is speaking Spanish. Uncle Tomas has to go to school one day for Carlos' parent/teacher conference, and that is when he finally loses his patience with English and Carlos appearing to enjoy speaking English more than his native language. Read this book to find out if Uncle Tomas ever accepts his new life in L.A.! I really enjoyed the ideas in this book. It has many important themes, but one is definitely not to judge a culture or someone from a certain culture before you take the time to get to know them. Also, there are many Spanish words in this book that students could use context and picture clues to figure them out. This is a book that could be used with ELL students or in a regular classroom. I would definitely use this book in my classroom that lacks diversity! This is a book I would recommend for any elementary classroom.

[Julia Somer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a family who has recently moved from Mexico to Los Angeles. It expresses the frustration that non-English speakers experience when living in America. Carlos, a young boy, has an uncle that he calls
Uncle Raincloud because of the gloom that he brings with him. Uncle Raincloud is always angry because his young nephew has to translate his Spanish into "el Blah Blah", or English. Uncle Raincloud embarrasses Carlos, so when he has to come to his school conference, Carlos is worried. Finally, Carlos explains to his uncle that it is scary and challenging for him to learn English at school, and that he needed to be brave and try to learn it too. Together they agree that if they continue to teach each other English/Spanish, they will know twice as much as everyone else! This is an attempt at a heartwarming story about the struggles that bilingual families go through. The plot isn't very climactic, and the illustrations aren't the most interesting. However, I think that this book does highlight the confusion and frustration that comes with learning a new language. There are multiple Spanish words used throughout the book, but they do not really enhance the story. There is a pronunciation guide in the back, but some of the words used were very long and would be hard for a child to sound out.

[Zainab Faridi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncle Rain Cloud is a great text relating children's experience and interactions with extended family members. This is a story about Carlos, a young boy who has moved with his family from Mexico to LA. Carlo's uncle, Tio Tomas, is grumpy about living in America becuase he doesn't understand English. It makes Uncle Tomas angry when he sees Carlos speaking English more than Spanish. Because of his moody behavior, Carlos calls his Tio "Unlce Rain Cloud." However, Carlos soon learns that his uncle feels incapable of learning English. The conflict is resolved when Carlos agrees to teach his uncle the new language and in return his uncle tells him ancient stories about Mexican gods in Spanish. This book is great for bilingual students and for embedding multicultural education into the topic of extended families. The text contains several Spanish words that are defined at the end of the book; these could be a great tool for young readers to discover a new language and interpret its meaning based on context clues. The Mexican-American culture is portrayed respectfully by the author and the characters are convincing and realistic without being stereotypical. The illustrator adds a new layer to the story with his soft paintings that accompany and enhance the text.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming story of a young boy and his uncle who together conquered their fear of learning another language. Spanish words interwoven with the English and a pronunciation guide to the aztec words on the last page.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book on the difficulties some immigrants face when moving to the US. Excellent use of Spanish and English words.

[Hannah Feeney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about how Carlos perceives his uncle since he and his family have moved to Los Angeles. He describes him as dark and gloomy, like a rain cloud. Hence the title. I love that the illustrations follow this perception. Starting out dark, gloomy and almost cover in a fog, but when his uncle began sharing stories with Carlos the pictures became brighter, even more yellow like the sun had come out. Uncle's are not a common picture book topic so I like the uniqueness of this book.

[Tiffany Brown]

This story has many colors that blend together giving the book a feel of the emotion that is felt by the uncle. And the eager excitement and will of Carlos wanting to teach him to understand. The bond gets deeper throughout the story and this is shown through the language and the culture that the two share. this is an excellent story for young children. Those that know English and those learning. There are so many valuable lessons that can be learned from the pages of this book.

[Cathy Sheetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is about a boys' uncle who seems unhappy and grouchy a lot of the time when he is trying to understand English. The boy figures out how to help his uncle learn English. It captures an adult English Language Learner's experience of struggling to understand an additional language.

I would use this in a classroom library and to build empathy with students for ELL.

[Dora · Rating 3 out of 5]

2001 Americas Commended Title