Rain Before Rainbows

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rain before rainbows  Smriti Prasadam-Halls

Candlewick Press is pleased to be providing the e-book of Rain Before Rainbows free for a limited time in order to raise awareness for Save the Children’s work in bringing resources to the most vulnerable children in rural America, now so disproportionally affected by coronavirus-related school closures.

In this heartfelt story about courage, change, and moving on, a girl and her companion fox travel together away from a sorrowful past, through challenging and stormy times, toward color and light and life. Along the way they find friends to guide and support them, and when the new day dawns, it is full of promise. With gorgeous, richly realized illustrations and immense hope at its heart, Rain Before Rainbows holds out a ray of sunshine for anyone looking for light.---from the publisher

32 pages 978-1536212839 Ages 3-7

Keywords: feelings, social situations, emotions, change, fox, friends, friendship, journey, hope, 3 year old, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old

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For anyone going through a difficult passage, this uplifting, beautifully illustrated picture book is about finding optimism in the darkest of places.

Rain before rainbows, clouds before sun, night before daybreak—a new day’s begun.

In this heartfelt story about courage, change, and moving on, a girl and her companion fox travel together away from a sorrowful past, through challenging and stormy times, toward color and light and life. Along the way they find friends to guide and support them, and when the new day dawns, it is full of promise. With gorgeous, richly realized illustrations and immense hope at its heart, Rain Before Rainbows holds out a ray of sunshine for anyone looking for light.

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Richie’s Picks: RAIN BEFORE RAINBOWS by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and David Litchfield, ill., Candlewick, October 2020, 32p., ISBN: 978-1-5362-1283-9

“We live in hope of deliverance from the darkness that surrounds us”

-- Paul McCartney (1993)

“Life may require fear, as a prompt to safeguard our survival. But humankind, I think, is not content to merely live in détente with our terror. We invented hope to propel us forward, to understand the source of our fright and learn how to take care with it.”

-- Matt Thompson, “Surviving This Pandemic Isn’t Enough” (The Atlantic, 5/10/20)

“...Dark days may shake us and worries creep in,

with dragons to duel and battles to win.

Thunder will rumble. Lightning will flash.

The wind will start blowing and tall waves will crash.

But...there are footsteps to follow and words that are wise.

There’s a map that will guide us when troubles arise.

There are friends who will help us, courageous and kind.

A rope to hold on to…

and treasures to find...”

RAIN BEFORE RAINBOWS is a hopeful tale of enduring the darkness and chaos in order to get to the sunshine, rainbows, and rebirth awaiting us in the days to come.

A young girl and her fox companion head off on a quest. There are scary moments, followed by even scarier ones. But, after braving a sea of trouble, they make landfall and meet up with a variety of friendly wild creatures, large and small. Together, they all meet the sunrise of a brand-new day.

Filled with dreamy visages of castles, mountains, starry nights, and, of course, rainbows, the tale concludes on a high note, as the young girl and the fox dance amongst their animal friends.

As we head toward the climax of an unimaginably tough year, RAIN BEFORE RAINBOWS offers young audiences hope that better days lie ahead. Let’s hope that is right.

Recommended by:  Richie Partington, MLIS, California USA

See more of Richie's Picks <https://richiespicks.com/https://richiespicks.pbworks.com

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Rain before rainbows. Clouds before sun. Night before daybreak. A new day’s begun...

With pictures as stunning as its title and as gentle as its message, this is a beautiful book that encourages children to hang in there, that whatever they are facing right now will pass and there will be a brighter time coming. The text is quite simple on the surface as the girl and her friendly fox climb mountains, face dragons and endure dark days as they strive towards their dreams. Along the way they discover that there are friends to help, alternative paths to follow and ropes to hold on to as they seek the treasure of a new day. While younger readers can follow along seeing the journey in a literal way, it is the metaphorical message that will resonate with the older reader who is able to operate at a more abstract level.

This is a story about trust, resilience, optimism and hope that will empower young readers to have the courage to keep moving forward, to follow their dreams, to see obstacles as opportunities and to be willing to be open to new things and be proactive. That, for all the storm might be noisy and scary, there is nevertheless beauty in it and the calm on the other side is savoured even more deeply because of the contrast.

These themes of courage, resilience and hope are featuring in many recent books for our young readers but given the calamity that has been 2020, it could be argued that the more we have access to the better, because at least one of them has to resonate and reach out to a child in need. And if it does, then the work of the author, illustrator and the adult who placed it in their world, is done.

Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA

Read more of her reviews: 500 Hats https://500hats.edublogs.org/

The Bottom Shelf https://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/

Storybook Cushions https:// bit.ly/storybook_cushions

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