What do you think?
Rate this book
Rain Play
Kids play in the park during a sudden rain shower, but retreat inside when thunder and lightning begin.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2008
44 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 20, 2012
This was another book from our "rain" bundle from the library. We've had some good ones in this particular bundle, and this is one of them.
The words are nothing much, just a simple rhyming poem about playing in the rain and then heading safely home when the thunder begins. However, the collage-style illustrations give a texture to each page that makes me want to look just a little bit longer. I really like the racial diversity in the illustrations, too. I think one of the reasons this book is appealing to me is that it looks just like our neighborhood playground (the playground my husband often refers to as "the mini UN" because of its mix of races and cultures). So often when picture books feature people they feature only white characters, or only black characters, or only Asian characters, etc. I liked that when I looked at Steptoe's playground, everybody was there.
My baby enjoyed looking at the illustrations in this book, too. He's so young that he still doesn't always notice them, but he paid attention to this one.
The words are nothing much, just a simple rhyming poem about playing in the rain and then heading safely home when the thunder begins. However, the collage-style illustrations give a texture to each page that makes me want to look just a little bit longer. I really like the racial diversity in the illustrations, too. I think one of the reasons this book is appealing to me is that it looks just like our neighborhood playground (the playground my husband often refers to as "the mini UN" because of its mix of races and cultures). So often when picture books feature people they feature only white characters, or only black characters, or only Asian characters, etc. I liked that when I looked at Steptoe's playground, everybody was there.
My baby enjoyed looking at the illustrations in this book, too. He's so young that he still doesn't always notice them, but he paid attention to this one.
March 9, 2008
I was working the reference desk of the library one day when a boy that couldn’t have been more than seven-years-old came up to me. He had that deadly serious look to his face that kids sometimes get when they want to impress upon you the importance of their request. Very politely he asked me for every single Javaka Steptoe book we had in the collection. I have to admit that I was a little surprised. We pretty much have all the man’s books, but when a kid requests an author or artist by name it tends to be pretty rote. Eric Carle or Mo Willems or Ezra Jack Keats. Even then, kids as young as seven usually ask for characters, not artists, so right off the bat I was impressed. I quickly yanked all the books off the shelf and handed them to the kid, wondering if maybe his parent had put him up to asking in the first place. But nope. That child sat down and inspected every single Javaka Steptoe book like they were the most precious possession he’d ever had the honor to handle. I like to think back to that kid sometimes whenever a new Steptoe book gets published, and I thought of it again recently when I picked up Rain Play by Cynthia Cotton. It’s a very brief, very simple rhyming tale of kids caught in a summer storm, and with Mr. Steptoe’s accompanying text it may well be a big hit with anyone who has ever done a dance in a drenching downpour or two.
On a warm summer day a bunch of kids hang out in a playground. “At the park / the sky grows dark.” Soon raindrops are falling and a lot of people take off. “Raindrops splatter / People scatter / But we stay / awhile and play.” Rain games and splashing commence for some, while others are content to capture the droplets in the curve of a single leaf. It isn’t until the lightning starts to flash that everyone takes off for the waiting car. At home parents bundle their kids up in towels, and then everyone goes to the window to watch the rain stop and the sun come out again.
I’ll be the first one to tell you that under normal circumstances, Steptoe’s art is not my style. He’s a good guy and takes care with his art, but books like The Jones Family Express just don’t do it for me. I’ve never really enjoyed paper collage. Is that a horrible thing to say? Even Eric Carle’s work does nothing to make my heart go ah-pitter pat much faster than its usual gelatinous beat. But I didn’t have to pick up Rain Play, you know. It was sitting in my boss’s office (he gets all the good stuff) in a pile of F&Gs and somehow, for some reason, I felt compelled to give it a glance. Maybe it was a sense memory thing or something. Maybe I just liked the colors used or the premise of the story, but something in me wanted to read and review this book.
Flipping through it I was struck by one thing: Depth. Depth is hard when all you’ve got to work with is a bunch of practically two-dimensional paper pieces. Apparently someone failed to inform Mr. Steptoe of the fact, though, since he’s constantly shifting our point of view, drawing close to the action and then far. We’re up above them as they scurry away like ants, and now we’re right up in their faces, practically able to see their non-existent pores. The rain appears to be the thinnest of white/blue tissue paper, falling to the earth in long streams. And the kids in this book are African-American, their skins a variety of different shades and hues. Steptoe chooses to draw their faces on, rather than rely on more paper, which allows a subtlety of expression you probably wouldn’t be able to capture otherwise.
Oh. And there are words too. Sorry, Cynthia Cotten. It’s the curse placed on every picture book author to play second fiddle to their artistically inclined compatriot’s talents. The Caldecott medal happens to go to art, after all. Not words. Cotten’s gently rhyming text provides the bones of the book, but it won’t surprise you particularly. It’s just the regular “I'm a flower / in a shower” kind of stuff. Not particularly memorable, but nice enough.
I’m sure you’ve a plethora of good rainy day picture books to pull out when the skies turn grey. I’ve worked at libraries where the displays are wholly contingent on that day’s weather. The nice thing about Rain Play is that it shows the change of a day from sunny to rainy to sunny once again, and it doesn’t rely on rainbows to feel some kind of wonder for the change. Wonder is itself a difficult emotion to capture, but I think that Cotten and Steptoe do a stand-up job of working the book in that direction. For any kid that has celebrated in a warm summer rain, or has wanted to, this is a good little book.
On a warm summer day a bunch of kids hang out in a playground. “At the park / the sky grows dark.” Soon raindrops are falling and a lot of people take off. “Raindrops splatter / People scatter / But we stay / awhile and play.” Rain games and splashing commence for some, while others are content to capture the droplets in the curve of a single leaf. It isn’t until the lightning starts to flash that everyone takes off for the waiting car. At home parents bundle their kids up in towels, and then everyone goes to the window to watch the rain stop and the sun come out again.
I’ll be the first one to tell you that under normal circumstances, Steptoe’s art is not my style. He’s a good guy and takes care with his art, but books like The Jones Family Express just don’t do it for me. I’ve never really enjoyed paper collage. Is that a horrible thing to say? Even Eric Carle’s work does nothing to make my heart go ah-pitter pat much faster than its usual gelatinous beat. But I didn’t have to pick up Rain Play, you know. It was sitting in my boss’s office (he gets all the good stuff) in a pile of F&Gs and somehow, for some reason, I felt compelled to give it a glance. Maybe it was a sense memory thing or something. Maybe I just liked the colors used or the premise of the story, but something in me wanted to read and review this book.
Flipping through it I was struck by one thing: Depth. Depth is hard when all you’ve got to work with is a bunch of practically two-dimensional paper pieces. Apparently someone failed to inform Mr. Steptoe of the fact, though, since he’s constantly shifting our point of view, drawing close to the action and then far. We’re up above them as they scurry away like ants, and now we’re right up in their faces, practically able to see their non-existent pores. The rain appears to be the thinnest of white/blue tissue paper, falling to the earth in long streams. And the kids in this book are African-American, their skins a variety of different shades and hues. Steptoe chooses to draw their faces on, rather than rely on more paper, which allows a subtlety of expression you probably wouldn’t be able to capture otherwise.
Oh. And there are words too. Sorry, Cynthia Cotten. It’s the curse placed on every picture book author to play second fiddle to their artistically inclined compatriot’s talents. The Caldecott medal happens to go to art, after all. Not words. Cotten’s gently rhyming text provides the bones of the book, but it won’t surprise you particularly. It’s just the regular “I'm a flower / in a shower” kind of stuff. Not particularly memorable, but nice enough.
I’m sure you’ve a plethora of good rainy day picture books to pull out when the skies turn grey. I’ve worked at libraries where the displays are wholly contingent on that day’s weather. The nice thing about Rain Play is that it shows the change of a day from sunny to rainy to sunny once again, and it doesn’t rely on rainbows to feel some kind of wonder for the change. Wonder is itself a difficult emotion to capture, but I think that Cotten and Steptoe do a stand-up job of working the book in that direction. For any kid that has celebrated in a warm summer rain, or has wanted to, this is a good little book.
April 26, 2008
The wrinkly paper used in the collages works well to convey the rainy and wet scenes -- but if you look at the very last image when the sun is out an supposedly everyone is snug and dry... he sense of wetness pervades due to the texture of the medium. I do like the rhythm of the text but fail to see the brilliance of the art that some others apparently saw.
August 25, 2014
I love love love this book. The art is beautiful, and I love the fact that it's a book about brown-skinned children that isn't "about race" - it's just about playing at the park when it starts to rain.
October 1, 2008
Strikingly illustrated in cut paper collage and paint by Javinka Steptoe, this title shows a diverse set of young people playing, cavorting, and delighting in a rainstorm that strikes their park.
With two to four rhyming lines per page this is a great Story-time read (especially for themes like Play, Weather, Rain, and Fall or Spring).
There is an understated reassuring theme in the book: when the thunder and lightening begin, Dad is there to pick the kids up, and Mom greets them at home with towels. The kids, warm at home and in fresh tee-shirts, watch the rain end and the sun emerge.
With two to four rhyming lines per page this is a great Story-time read (especially for themes like Play, Weather, Rain, and Fall or Spring).
There is an understated reassuring theme in the book: when the thunder and lightening begin, Dad is there to pick the kids up, and Mom greets them at home with towels. The kids, warm at home and in fresh tee-shirts, watch the rain end and the sun emerge.
July 10, 2008
I really like the text and the illustrations. However, the illustrations and the text do not flow together. I would have loved to use this book with preschoolers but the illustrations are of older children and teens.
April 21, 2009
This is a beautiful book about kids playing at the park as it starts to rain. The message of enjoying the rain is wonderful with fun language that mimics the sounds of the rain. But the real power of this book is in its cutpaper collage and painted illustrations. A visual feast!
March 29, 2011
It's a very easy book with rhyming pages. It doesn't have a lot of plot or thought put into it. Kids may enjoy it during a story time or if the person reading it is very enthusiastic and creates the sounds.
July 23, 2011
This is a lovely picture book about children playing during a rainstorm. This is a wonderful example of how illustration can really make a children's book come alive. I could read this again and again.
April 26, 2012
I love the illustrations. According to the title page verso, the artist used paint and cut-paper collage. I think it's good to expose children to different art techniques. The text read like a poem, but I wasn't very impressed by it. I found it a bit flat.
May 1, 2012
The art work is really what sells this book (and nice to have such a quality book feature ethnic children)...very nice work by artist Javaka Steptoe. The text is filled with rhymes, so a great way to introduce that concept to kids...
February 11, 2009
Nice read aloud, with interesting collage illustrations.
April 19, 2009
Great Illustrations!
Read
December 6, 2010interesting pictures, and good play with words.
May 4, 2012
Great for rhymes!
January 21, 2015
Very good use of rhyming.
July 25, 2016
Great for storytime. Simple rhymes.
August 11, 2016
Absolutely love the poetry and the art!
September 1, 2019
Children caught in a rainstorm on the playground splash and play until lightning and thunder send them running to the shelter of a parent’s waiting car. Poetic language and beautiful illustrations turn this simple experience into something special. I paired it with Mo Willems’ “Are you ready to play outside?” for a rainy, splashy storytime. We made a thunderstorm then a rainbow using the parachute. Reading rhyming books with children nurtures phonological awareness, the ability to hear and play with smaller sounds in words.
May 31, 2021
The perfect book to read with Little One on a rainy day. Another great find from the library "grab bag". The rhymes are very simple but much better than many children's books. It described what Little One and her friends might do outside in the rain. The book isn't too long either, which is a nice departure from many books we've found lately. For Mama, the illustrations were the best part! Definitely check this one out.
Read
April 4, 2024This book is about a young girl named Tess who waits for the rain, as she loves the endless possibilities for fun and adventure that the rain brings. Through the pictures, the sense of wonder inspires other children to embrace the rain and play with the water and wetness.
November 7, 2017
November 2017 - fun rainy day playground story.
June 15, 2018
rhyming and fun illustrations
February 21, 2020
Rhyming text and collage illustrations convey the feel of playing in rain at the park. A decent, but not outstanding read aloud.
March 12, 2024
This book has fun words and great illustrations, but some pages could be illustrated better. They tell two stories that are similar, but not the same. Overall it is a good and fun read though!
April 21, 2022
The illustrations were very different than what I have seen in other children's books. It included diversity throughout the book, so I definitely think this book should be included in classroom libraries. It looked like an art collage, which I love in children's books. It looks effortless which makes it so pleasing to look at.
March 10, 2023
Used for a preschool program where we painted with water on the sidewalk. Not sure it was actually the best fit for that program, but I would definitely use this book again for storytimes or programs that talk about rain or storms. It's nice having a book that talks about playing in the rain, even without having a rain coat and boots, with the added opportunity to mention that it's safest to play inside if there's thunder and lightning.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews