#blogbookaday: Once Upon a Rainy Day
Summary: “This is the story of a story that starts over again every day in the same way: as the sun rises, Mr. Warbler steps outside his cottage and walks into to the forest to wake the Big Bad Wolf. Every day, this action unleashes the same cavalcade of antics as the forest animals try to escape. But today, none of it happens — Mr. Warbler doesn’t even go outside — because it is raining.
In this book, the text tells a story the reader purposely never sees play out on the page. In whimsical color, the settings are illustrated as described, but they are empty of characters and action. The reader has to imagine them to life. The eccentric characters described — like Oscar the bookwormish, bicycle-riding pig and Niles, a flying squirrel and retired globetrotter with a hot air balloon — will provide rich fodder for creative imaginations.
Once Upon a Rainy Day sets the stage for exploring cause and effect and invites an inventiveness that could lead someplace new with every read. And just as the book ends, the sun comes out…” (Taken from Goodreads)
Review: I’m always intrigued by picture books translated from other languages and countries – it shows just how diverse the market is around the world! Once Upon a Rainy Day shares the story of what would happen if it hadn’t been raining today in the most interesting way as the narrator introduces characters without actually showing them and events of what would happen next, if of course, it wasn’t raining. The entire time I read the story all I wanted was to see what these characters looked like – and the author/illustrator has forced the reader to do the hard work of imagining these characters for themselves.
Personal Reaction: It’s a rainy day today – a perfect day to read a book about the rain! This would be an interesting book to study about cause and effect as well as a great book to read to allow kids to draw the characters based on their descriptions in the text! The settings are adorable with a distinctive palette and bold shapes, I wonder if kids could emulate the style to create the characters? It would be a fun idea to try!
Title: Once Upon a Rainy Day
Author: Édouard Manceau
Illustrator: Édouard Manceau
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Publication Date: August 11, 2015
This is a new idea I’m trying on my blog this year that was inspired by @donalynbooks and @heisereads – to provide a brief review of a picture book every day of 2018. You’ll get a brief summary of the story, a review of the content, illustrations and theme, my personal reaction to the book and all the pertinent publication information! Enjoy!
