Raindrops Roll

With lyrical words and striking images, a poet, photographer and veteran natural history writer celebrates rain."Rain plops. / It drops. // It patters. / It spatters." From the beginning of a storm to the return of the sun, this splendid presentation reveals the wonder of water in the form of rain. Short, rhythmic lines, often only two words but rhyming or alliterative, are set one to a page against a full-bleed photograph. Sayre's close observations, many in an ordinary garden, will lead readers and listeners to look more closely, too, both at her photographs and at the world around them. There are insects hiding from a shower; drops cling to flowers, leaves and insect legs. There are even tiny reflections in the globules. Raindrops bend down grasses, highlight shapes and band together. Some of the pictures harbor extra secrets. (A fly is barely visible on the front cover photograph.) These carefully chosen images have been thoughtfully arranged and beautifully reproduced. Preschoolers can appreciate the poem and pictures, but middle graders will want the facts in the concluding "Splash of Science," which provides some background and explanation for the short statements and goes on to describe "Raindrops Inside You," connecting the reader to the water cycle. Wonder-full in every way. (further resources) (Informational picture book. 3-8)