Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
It’s been so long since it’s rained, young Elsina can’t even remember what rain is like: “BLUE. Only blue and the sun. Another day without clouds. I can’t remember clouds.” Her family needs the rain desperately, as her mother’s crop has died and her father’s goats are starving. As we learn in a two-line introduction to this small, square book, the Basotho women of southern Africa decorate the outside walls of their houses in hopes that their ancestors will send rain. Elsina dreams of the pictures she will paint on the house someday, and when Papa adds a room to the house to make room for a new baby, she finally gets to paint her first wall. She paints all day, and even dreams about painting at night: “I see the far-off mountain./ I see the sweet sorghum./ I see the spiny spiderweb.” Weeks pass without rain, until, finally, “Plop!” and then “SPLAAASH!” Mama tells Elsina that the ancestors heard her prayers. The cycle continues every season… and the ancestors listen. Children will appreciate the fact that Elsina is not only allowed to express herself creatively through her paintings, but also to make a contribution to the family. Jeanette Winter’s clean, colorful illustrations are framed by geometric borders, echoing traditional African designs. (Ages 5 to 8) –Karin Snelson
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-An author’s note explains that the Basotho women of southern Africa decorate the outside of their homes with designs that serve as prayers to their ancestors for rain. As this story begins, the weather has been dry for so long that young Elsina cannot even remember clouds. “Mama’s field has died” and “Papa’s goats starve.” The girl asks when she can try painting, and her mother tells her, “When the rains come and wash away my designs, Elsina. Then you can paint the walls.” Then Papa builds an addition onto the house for the new baby Mama is expecting, and Elsina is allowed to decorate the new walls. Finally, the ancestors hear their prayers and it begins to rain, washing away all of the designs. When the rain stops, the girl once again adorns the addition with pictures. With its universal theme of waiting and its bright colors and geometric patterns, this heartwarming book is reminiscent of Winter’s My Baby (Farrar, 2001). The artwork is simple and sweet. Each illustration is contained within a square and bordered by a typical African geometric design. The text is placed within colorful dialogue bubbles and rectangles. Pair this offering with similar titles that provide glimpses into different cultures and climates, including Uma Krishnaswami’s Monsoon (Farrar, 2003), Katrina Germein’s Big Rain Coming (Clarion, 2000), and Karen Hesse’s Come on, Rain! (Scholastic, 1999).-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 3. Art is the story in this small, lovely picture book about a rural family in southern Africa. Elsina is a Basotho child who follows her people’s tradition of painting designs on the outside walls of their houses as a prayer to the ancestors for rain. With her mother’s guidance, she paints the sun, the mountain, and the brightly colored shapes all around her as well as the circling black, rain-filled clouds of her dreams. For weeks there is only blue sky, but then the rains come, the crops thrive, and Elsina’s baby brother is born. The rain washes away the designs on the walls, and every year Elsina can paint the walls anew. Framing each small, clear page are intricately patterned borders in brilliant color, each one different. Even older children will be interested to see how the traditional Basotho geometric designs reflect the world the artist sees and creates–the sun, mountains, the lightning, the rolling fields, and even spider webs. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
“The story is elegant in its simplicity, evoking the cycle of life in a rural African setting…Children will not only get a sense of culture and place but will also understand Elsina’s longing to participate and create in the world.” — The Horn Book
— Review
“Art is the story in this small, lovely picture book.” —
Booklist— Review
About the Author
Jeanette Winter is the author and illustrator of many notable books for children, including Beatrix: Various Episodes from the Life of Beatrix Potter and Emily Dickinson’s Letters to the World, a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Book and a New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book. She lives in New York City.
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