The Rhythm of the Rain

Isaac is playing by his favourite pool one day when it starts raining. Emptying his own jar of water into the pool, he races the stream down the mountainside, then observes how the streams join the river past his home and into a waterfall. The river, still containing Isaac’s pot of water, flows through the countryside and the city and into the ocean, where a whale rises and blows a fountain of water into the night, which rains back onto the sea.

And, in a country far away, the mist that has evaporated from the sea turns into rain and provides water for a thirsty girl to drink.

Grahame Baker-Smith is a huge talent in picture book illustration, and his images of the natural world here are deep, vibrant and painterly, which will absorb slightly older picture book readers in their watery depths.

Baker-Smith explores the global life cycle of water and weather, reminding children that small actions and experiences are always a vital part of the bigger picture; that we all belong to the world, as much as a drop of rain, a blue whale and the ocean itself.