On a Rainy Day
by Sarah LuAnn Perkins; illus. by the author
Preschool    Viking    32 pp.    g
3/22    978-0-593-40508-6    $17.99
e-book ed.  978-0-593-40510-9    $10.99

The “WHOOOSH!” and CRRRREAK!” of a swing is interrupted by the “dit dot drip!” of raindrops, and “soon, there are more.” A brown-skinned, dark-haired father and daughter reluctantly head to the car; as the rain increases, sound words are playfully incorporated into each scene. The little girl looks anxiously up at the sky, and her drooping head and shoulders as they go into the house show her disappointment. The dad’s solution of playing a video game cheers her up, just in time for a big “RRRRUMBLE CRASH!” The lights go out (“zzzzt!”) and the following very dark double-page spread shows shadowy shapes and lots of swirling sounds. A blanket fort and flashlight make a cozy, safe space to play checkers and wait out the storm. Perkins’s digital art resembles linocuts, with circular imagery moving the story along. Like Davis’s Sunny-Side Up (rev. 5/21), this is a tale both about the weather and about weathering disappointment. The joyful puddle-jumping “FWOOSH!” that ends the book should have preschoolers looking forward to rainy days.

From the March/April 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.