This is a lovely story book aimed at children aged 3 – 7 year olds. An excellent tool for showing children that there is hope even when times are bad and difficult things happen. Life is never pure sunshine, but when I wrote this book I really didn’t envisage the clouds that would darken our skies the world over. We have all had to embark on a journey we didn’t expect, facing difficulty and danger, often separated from friends and loved ones. We may feel alone. But we are not. Rain Before Rainbows’ is a simple rhyming picture book with a story of a girl and her fox friend who have to leave their home during a storm after a terrible fire engulfs the castle they lived in. The girl and the fox must deal with rain and storms, and a dark scary night all while journeying somewhere far away. During the journey they encounter scary creatures and a raging storm in an ocean before finally finding a new and hopeful land where there are new animal friends to meet and where eventually the night turns into a bright and wonderful new day.

This book was originally released for free in its digital format as part of Save The Children’s ‘Save With Stories’ campaign during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. If ever there was a right time for a beautiful, uplifting book like this to come into your life, it’s now. An unnamed girl, who we know nothing about, sets off on a journey with nothing but her friend the fox and they travel through storms, rough seas and mountain ranges to reach a place of safety and light. This is a story of friendship, perseverance and hope – things I think every person needs right now. Drawing this book was a complete joy. The emotion that comes through Smriti’s poetic writing is really powerful and it was a very happy challenge to try and translate that visually within the illustrations. A simple story with a powerful message. It’s a great message to share with children, not only during this strange time but also any difficult time in their lives. It’s a message to let children (and adults) know that better times will come even if there are bad things happening now. Indeed, as the title says you can’t have a rainbow without first having some rain! The second time I took note of the rhyming words and as the book progressed my thoughts turned to the book being more of a metaphor regarding the child, a young girl and her fox friend going through a tough time. I read it as the girl was going through some mental health challenges and the book was showcasing her bad thoughts and then there was a brighter new day.

War Is Over

I would recommend getting this picture book. It’s a great way to show and raise issues with children to help them understand that things will get better when they feel things are bad, a message that adults often need too! Rege’s story will air on Sunday 14 March, followed the next day by a story from singer Rag‘n’Bone Man. He will be reading My Dad Used to be So Cool by Keith Negley, a funny and relatable story about a dad who was in a band but who is no longer the cool guy he once was. An engaging story about how children can show their parents they are still cool after all, even if it’s not in quite the same way.

A luminous book to help children at difficult times, Rain Before Rainbows has a simple rhyming text that reminds the reader that, despite the difficulties life can bring, there is always light on the horizon and the promise of a better day. Importantly, too, that others can help – when the little girl finds her animal guides in the forest, she reminds us that there are experts and wise ones who can help us. People who may have experienced the thing we are before now. Regé-Jean will read Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls and David Litchfield about a girl and her companion fox who travel together from a place of loss and despair, through uncertain times, towards the hope of colour, light and life. They learn that, in the midst of rain, rainbows can be hard to see but, with courage and the help of good friends, there is always a way out of darkness.For the past few months a lot of you have been drawing your own rainbows and displaying them on your windows. I have loved seeing some of these on my daily walks. They always remind me of all the brave people in the world. They also remind me of the Girl and her magic Fox and the journey that they had together. Hope over Fear. Rain Before Rainbows.’

A little girl travels through perilous landscapes, meeting dangerous dragons in a dark forest and navigating treacherous seas. Yet, when she finds land, kind and wise animals guide her through a sunlit woodland to the sun dawning overhead. The girl builds a shelter in the woodland and knows that the future is bright, and the worst is behind her. Rain Before Rainbows’ is a simple rhyming picture book. The story of a girl and her fox friend who have to leave their home after a terrible fire engulfs the castle they lived in. The girl and the fox encounter and must deal with scary creatures and a raging storm whilst on a long journey before finally finding a new land where there are new friends to meet and eventually the darkness turns into a bright and wonderful new day. There are many messages that this book contains. What stands out most for me personally is the idea that the journey that the girl and her Fox friend find themselves on is obviously really tough and really scary, but they keep going. They keep holding on to hope. I completely loved that idea when I first started drawing the book all those months ago, and I absolutely love it now as I sit here writing this note. In fact, the idea of ‘Hope over Fear’ is one of the reasons the Fox looks the way it does. No matter how dark and terrifying things might get, the pattern on Fox’s fur will be a constant reminder of the light and natural beauty that exists in the world. On Tuesday 16 March, actress Felicity Jones will read the very apt story, The Huffalots, by Eve Coy. Here a Mum wakes up her Huffalots to find they are grumpy. Eventually, with the help of a big cuddle, they become Lovealots. But it's been a long day and Mum is now grumpy and tired. It’s a good thing the Lovealots know exactly what to do.This is such a lovely story book and perfect for showing children that there are always good things happening after bad. ‘Rain Before Rainbows’ has been released as a free ebook by the publisher (before the physical release in October) to raise awareness and hopefully to help raise some money for the ‘Save With Stories’ campaign run by Save the Children charity. It’s this free ebook that I’m reviewing and I think it’s a lovely book to embrace the campaign, and a great one to focus on at this strange time, given the weird situation everyone is in and the importance of the rainbow as a symbol of hope. But it’s also a great book to share with children at any time, regardless of what is happening in the outside world. To finish the week there will be a story read in support of Comic Relief. More details on who the special reader is will be announced soon. This is a charming book, with an easy rhythm to the wonderful story with a great message. The illustrations are gorgeous. Together they are mesmerising. However, the third time I noticed the castle on fire which is set before the story begins and I had missed it. This then took the plot in a different direction for me as it then was about a young girl and her fox friend having to travel over mountains, through stormy seas to get away from their home that had been destroyed and finding a new place. At the end of the story Tom surmises: “If one person can save a turtle, just imagine what we can all do when we work together. We can overcome diseases, invent amazing new things and make the world a better place by helping animals, and helping each other.”