A boy, Issac, empties his jar of water into a pool near his home and wonders what happens to this water. I’ve often banged on about my love of non-fiction and the importance of good quality interesting factual books, well The Rhythm of the Rain is a step beyond any such non-fiction book I’ve come across before. Isaac follows the flow of the water down a waterfall, into a river that flows across the country, through the city, into the ocean, across the world, into mist, forming as clouds and comind down as rain again. We used this for poetry in Y2, and re-telling where we pretended to be a drop of water being poured from Isaac's jar and the journey we went on.

Rhythm of the Rain - LoveReading4Kids The Rhythm of the Rain - LoveReading4Kids

He empties his jar of water into the pool that flows into a stream down the side of the mountain as the rain falls. He then follows this stream, and his “water” as it makes its way through the country and into the river and into the city, and then into the ocean, and then into another country, back into the clouds, and then back as rain, and back into the ocean, and back into the stream by his house.I could stop on each page and ask the students what they think is happening, then try to explain what is actually happening.

The Rhythm of the Rain - BookMonsters.info The Rhythm of the Rain - BookMonsters.info

This then is a deeper story about cycles of symmetry and how we are all connected through the waters of life. From the moment we encounter the book, the rain falling down the covers, through the end papers with rain drops splashing into a pool to a stream tumbling downhill we are aware of water and the way it links us. For example, the illustrations of the natural world could be used to inspire poetry or creative writing. Your class will discover the process and the stages of evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection.

Each time I look at them I notice something different and some of them even look like they could be printed and hung on a wall. I purchased The Rhythm of the Rain after having read a number of reviews and viewing the front cover online. My favourite part of it was when he followed the river to the sea and met all the animals and discovered new parts of the world. The water begins its journey in a jar, which is emptied into a pool by a little boy, Isaac, who watches it trickle away and wonders where it goes. Grahame Barker-Smith has taken the traditional concept of the water cycle and turned it into an emotional and thought-provoking story.

Rhythm of the Rain by Grahame Baker-Smith - CLPE Rhythm of the Rain by Grahame Baker-Smith - CLPE

However, with deeper picking it is possible to see that there are other messages lurking beneath its depths. Farther, which uses photographic collage and illustration, is the first book that Grahame has written and illustrated. We meet Isaac as he plays by a mountain pool; the rain falls and the water flows out of the pool to become a stream then a river. Although it could be argued that picture books are often aimed at a younger audience, I would recommend this book for all year groups. The front cover of my hardback edition has the most gorgeous foil detail, representing the rain, over the top of an illustration of the original little pond, the start of the story and the river winding down to the ocean.The ubiquity of water throughout the world, its necessity to humans and animals and how the water cycle works are all explored in an imaginative combination of words and pictures.