Review by Booklist Review
Ages 3^-7. A rainstorm brings the city to a cacophonous halt in Shannon's spirited, beautifully illustrated new work. "On Saturday morning, the rain came down." It makes the chickens squawk, which makes the cat yowl, the dog bark, the man yell, his baby cry, and his wife shout. The chaos grows, out of the house and into the streets. Just as it seems a riot will ensue, the rain stops, and the crowd gradually untangles. The book ends in the backyard where it all began--with husband, wife, and baby picnicking serenely next to snoozing animals. The brief text is well paced and filled with words that build the story's tension and noise. But it's the colorful painted spreads that will most interest children. Wild, detailed street scenes, filled with richly drawn characters and shifting perspectives, show the absurdity and humor in each incident that contributes to the larger chaos. Children will return to these scenes of raucous upheaval and sigh with relief when calm is restored. --Gillian Engberg
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Raindrops set off a chain reaction of temper tantrums, but a sudden break in the clouds makes the bad moods melt. A series of isolated vignettes begins with a noisy, muddy dog that aggravates its owner, so "the man yelled at the dog and woke up the baby.... The dog barked louder. And still, the rain came down." Outside, a taxi driver beeps at a stopped truck, and in the next frame, the truck driver argues back. One by one, shop owners collide with pedestrians as tension accumulates, all to the refrain, "And still, the rain came down." After this series of intense close-ups, Shannon (No, David!) gives a bird's-eye view of the whole scene: small-town storefronts, bumper-to-bumper traffic and irritable people. But in the next spread, he swings down to street level and captures the moment that "the rain stopped! And so did the noise." The sunshine changes everything, and a second sequence of highly detailed paintings revisits each of the now-cooperative characters. Shannon expertly uses vertiginous angles as he builds suspense, then calms things down with a set of subdued portraits and a view of a quiet afternoon picnic. However, unlike Charlotte Zolotow's similarly conceived The Quarreling Book, which took a child's point of view, here the action is primarily among adults and may not hold readers' attention for repeated readings. Ages 3-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-This deceptively simple story showcases Shannon's quirky humor and offbeat illustrations. A summer storm provokes a series of unpleasant interactions. From the chickens, cat, and dog whose squabbling results in a man yelling and waking the baby to an altercation between shopkeepers and an eventual traffic tie-up, the rain sets off a chain reaction of misunderstandings, mishaps, and messes. Yet when the rain suddenly stops and a rainbow appears, folks find ways to mend fences and make the best of things. Engaging details and intersecting events make this story work. Shannon's writing flows well, creating a sense of inevitability as the action snowballs. The accompanying paintings have a vaguely retro look, with characters clothed in `50s-style apparel. Each character, however briefly introduced or described, has a distinct personality, although none have names. Teachers and parents could use this book to discuss sequencing, weather, manners, or even community helpers, but kids will just enjoy it as a fun story cheerfully told and amusingly illustrated.-Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool, Primary) When the rain starts falling one morning, some chickens squawk, which makes a cat yowl. A dog barks at the cat, and a man yells at the dog, which causes his baby to cry, and the man's wife shouts, ""Stop all that yelling!"" A police officer blocks traffic to check on the domestic disturbance, and soon the whole neighborhood is honking, bickering, and snapping at one another in a chain reaction of human frustration. ""And still, the rain came down."" Shannon's pacing reflects the controlled chaotic scene in the urban, 1950s-era neighborhood and builds dramatically to the cacophonous climax, making this a natural choice for reading aloud. Framed in white, large close-up illustrations show gently caricatured people, their faces distorted with irritation. Humorous details in the artwork relieve the mood of increasing crankiness: in the corner of one painting, for example, a family of ducks boldly crosses the traffic-congested street in classic McCloskey fashion. At the height of the discord, Shannon pulls away to show a bird's-eye view of the noisy, cramped, water-logged street, while the text puts on the brakes: ""And then...[page turn]...the rain stopped!"" The sun comes out, and calm and good will are restored. In the end we arrive almost where we started, in the backyard with the man, his wife, their baby, and their pets peacefully enjoying the sunny afternoon. Want to settle down an overly rambunctious group? Let them blow off steam with this satisfyingly circular story-they'll be transformed by the time the storm passes. k.f. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The squabbles caused by a brief shower on a busy street turn to smiles under the ensuing rainbow in this picture-book mini-drama from the author of No, David! (1998). Plunked by the first few drops, some chickens squawk, exciting a cat whose yowls make a dog bark, which makes a man yell, which wakes up a baby . . . and so on, until traffic is jammed, horns are honking, store owners are out on the sidewalk bickering, and an awkward shopper knocks over a fruit stand. Then the rain stops, the sun comes out, bringing a rainbow, and just like that everyones annoyance melts away and life is sweeter. Using a bright palette and making small details and facial expressions stand out, Shannon creates a gleaming, rain-washed neighborhood of gently caricatured residents, all of whom fall into conventional gender roles but convey the episodes moods, changeable as the weather, with theatrical flair. Broader, perhaps, but less refreshing in the end than Karen Hesses lyrical Come On, Rain! (1999). Save it for a rainy day. (Picture book. 5-7)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
