"Charlie and I wanted
to go outside, but there
too much rain!
Big fat drops of it
splattered on the ground.
Water gushed out of a
gutter spout."
Charlie and Sarah are thrilled to be spending six days with their grandparents. The children love the old house their grandparents live in, and spend the first day running from room to room and reacquainting themselves with its many special places. When it starts to rain on the second day, they make further discoveries. And the rain keeps pouring down. By the third day, the children are becoming agitated with having to stay put.
Sarah has a question to ask.
"Where does the rain come from?" I asked
my grandfather.
"I'll show you when the storm passes," he
said. "But first we'll have to find the biggest
puddle in the world."
The biggest puddle in the world! How big
would that be?"
Finally, on the fourth day, the sun shines. The children finish their breakfast and hurry out to find their grandfather chopping wood. Sarah wants to see the biggest puddle in the world. It's time! Off they go together, enjoying the small puddles, the mushrooms that have popped up thanks to the moisture and all the other signs of growth the rain has encouraged. Their grandfather suggests they follow the water from one small puddle to a stream; then, to a pond. Stopping at the pond to scoop some water and pour it on a nearby rock, Big T. (the grandfather) asks Sarah to draw a puddle map. She does.
While Sarah is busy, the water disappears and Big T. explains why. Next, they find a river, and finally the biggest puddle - the ocean. What excitement!
This is a terrific introduction for little ones to the way the water cycle works. Learning in the real world has such benefits for them; it is learning that lasts. I like the gentle, earthy feel of the muted watercolors, which are created in a mix of real and digital watercolors. They set just the right tone for a book celebrating water.
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