puddles – Mom Read It

Let’s Go Puddling!, by Emma Perry/Illustrated by Claire Alexander, (Apr. 2023, Candlewick Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781536228496

Ages 2-6

Who says “rain, rain, go away?” Not these three families! A group of toddlers and their families delight in a rainy day playdate in this delightful story written in verse. Three families living in the same apartment complex get their littles dressed for fun and meet in the playground, where the children stimp, stamp, stomp through the puddles while other adults rush by, heads down, missing all the fun. Alexander’s digital illustrations bring the softness and fluidity of a rainy day to life; Perry’s spare verse evokes all the joy of play. Great sound effects – “Shake, shake, shake”; “Squish! Squash! Squelch!” – make this a great choice for a readaloud. As much fun to read as it is to listen to.

Joy Ride, by Sherri Duskey Rinker/Illustrated by Ana Ramírez González, (Apr. 2023, Candlewick Press), $18.99, ISBN: 9781536207743

Ages 4-8

Joy is a little girl who needs something to keep her busy over summer vacation, so her mom sends her to her grandfather’s, where she finds a bike. Joy and Granddad work together on the bike: he fixes, she “fancies it up”, and when she takes that first ride, she’s enchanted: “Today I’m not just Joy: I’m JOY!!!” Sadly, other kids tease her, causing Joy to push the bike down a hill, but she soon realizes that the other kids all look alike. There’s nothing special about them. She fetches her bike, bringing it back to Granddad so she can ride again. A sweet story of individuality and taking a stand against bullies, Joy Ride is a wonderful multigenerational story, a tinkering story, a story about embracing what makes you happy. Digital illustrations are bright, colorful, bold; Rinker’s narration, told from Joy’s point of view, has moments that all kids can relate to, from the boredom of having nothing to do all summer, to the connection between child and grandparent, to the delight of riding a bike, streamers “whippity-whip-whippity-whip-whip”-ing in the breeze. A great choice for a readaloud.

Color and Me, by Michaela Dias-Hayes, (March 2023, Kane Miller), $13.99, ISBN: 9781684645282

Ages 2-5

A brown-skinned little girl fingerpaints, discovering what she can make by mixing colors together. When she makes brown, she is delighted: “Brown is MY color. This is ME.” Illustrations are playful and bright, with paint-spattered endpapers to add to the sense of play. The girl’s joy extends to her hair, shown in different styles including her natural style, braids, twists, and puffs. The playful rhyming verse makes this a pleasure to read aloud, and the combination of artistic play and positive self-image makes this an excellent choice for storytime collections and readalouds. Color and Me was originally published in Britain in 2022.

Consider a storytime art project where kids make a handprint rainbow, inspired by a spread in the story. If that’s too messy for some, help kids trace and cut out their handprints on construction paper to create wreaths and rainbows. Consider reading with Kathryn Otoshi’s Beautiful Hands.

The Biggest Puddle in the World, by Mark Lee/Illustrated by Nathalie Dion, (March 2019, Groundwood Books), $18.95, ISBN: 9781554989799

Ages 4-7

Siblings Sarah and Charlie go to stay with their grandparents for six days; at first, it rains, allowing the two to explore the old house, but they’re itching to get outside and wander. Finally, the weather lets up, and they head out, with their grandfather, on a nature walk. Big T, their grandfather, promises to show them the biggest puddle in the world, and encourages Sarah to keep a puddle map; all the while, explaining the water cycle: the rain comes down and collects in the puddles; the water in the air become the clouds in the sky. The clouds are made up of water from ponds and rivers and the biggest puddle in the world, which, the kids discover, is the ocean!

This is a great way to lead in to a discussion and/or lesson about the water cycle. The story and illustrations are all about the joy of being a kid: they enjoy spending time with grandparents; jump in puddles; explore nature, and find ways to keep themselves occupied when stuck inside on rainy days. Big T gives them a simple, illustrative way to understand the water cycle and how puddles collect, form bigger puddles, and eventually, become part of the clouds, which bring the rain. He encourages learning, and invites the kids to use hands-on learning by exploring and mapping their day.

The real and digital watercolor artwork is soft, with earth tones and faded colors, allowing nature to calmly take its place as the focal point of the story. Grasses gently move in an imagined breeze; the ocean stretches across a spread as Big T watches his grandchildren and their dog play, boots left on the sand.

A nice bridge between fiction and nonfiction, and a good addition to science storytime.