It's Raining! It's Pouring! We're Exploring!

Description

When bad weather prevents three children from playing outside, how can they possibly entertain themselves? Never fear! With a few home-made props and a great deal of ready imagination, the perfect plan is hatched. The rich spontaneity of children's imaginative play is beautifully captured by Polly Peters's expressive text and Jess Stockham's busy and amusing illustrations.

It is raining, so three children create an imaginary adventure indoors. One of them wears glasses and another needs an inhaler, but disabilities make no difference, and neither do colour or gender, the children have equal roles in initiating the action and in helping one another. Readers will enjoy the comic pictures and bouncy rhymes, and will relish the innovative approach to domestic equipment as the three create a boat and a truck to support their exploring. Housework, like play, is a joint effort, so Dad and Mum together supply lunch. -- Ann Henderson Under 5 Magazine On a rainy day three children look out of the window. They sigh, they whinge, the fuss about having nothing to do, but as their imagination develops they decide they will become explorers. A cardboard box becomes a boat, a broom and towel the sail, a map is drawn to enable them to find the estuary leading out to the open sea. readers join them as they squeeze into a cave (cushions piled high in the living room), or as they climb a mountain (the stairs) and make a pretend fire in the bedroom before they lie down to sleep. There are many more adventures as they crawl towards the kitchen - lured by a delicious smell of cooking. But tidying up has to be done before they can enjoy their dinner underneath the kitchen table. The rhyming story also suggests sound effects, and the illustrations are full of details that children will enjoy. -- Sybil Hannavy School Librarian Journal