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*The Falling Raindrop* by Neil Johnson, illustrated by Joel Chin
The Falling Raindrop
by Neil Johnson, illustrated by Joel Chin
Ages 4-8 48 pages Tricycle Press March 2010 Hardcover    

The Falling Raindrop! is a cleverly illustrated little book about the water cycle - the transfer of water from clouds to the earth and back.

In the first image, a dark cloud presages a brewing storm. As the wind, lightning and thunder put on their show, a little raindrop is born in the clouds. This single raindrop, illustrated with a goofy and joyful smile, flies through the clouds down to the earth at an accelerating pace. But suddenly the raindrop is worried that he is falling, and he feels “sad and scared and alone.” His worry causes him to miss out on the joy of his journey – but, as it turns out, something wonderful awaits him at the end of this leg of his trip.

The Falling Raindrop! can be read as an effective way to teach children about the hydrologic cycle, as a metaphor for life, or even as a statement about rebirth. The artwork, digitally rendered to mimic pencil sketches, is clean, quirky and appealing.

However, a big drawback to the book is the fact that several pages of text and illustrations are devoted to the raindrop’s fear and anxiety as it falls to the ground. With this much attention paid to the subject, the book takes on a more somber tone than is warranted or desirable in a text designed to teach the basic facts of science to young children.
 


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  Usha Rao/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book  






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