Rainstack!

PreS-Gr 2-The animals in the valley are in terrible straits as food and water are nearly gone. But the lion is sure they can find a solution if they all just work together. Rabbit, an inventor, feels he can solve the problem on his own and invents a rain-making robot. The other creatures are not so thrilled to discover that the machine runs on carrot juice (gas and batteries aren't good for the planet), as the only food they have left is a pile of carrots. By the time the rabbit drives the robot up the mountain to make rain, with the other animals along to watch, that pile of food is small indeed. The robot begins to send warm air toward the clouds, but it accidentally rolls down the mountain. And with only one carrot left, there isn't enough fuel to drive it back up. ("'This is stressing me out,' cried the monkey.") The lion is sure that the solution still lies in working together. The animals push the robot up the mountain, make a pyramid of themselves to get it close to the clouds, and with a little additional help from the elephants at the top, it starts to rain. The lesson is clear-teamwork equals success. Tukel's pencil and ink cartoon illustrations are digitally colored and maintain a warm, friendly feel. They depict critters with spot-on expressions from various ecosystems. Good for storytimes on teamwork or inventing.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

An inventor rabbit is confident his latest creation, a rain-making robot, will save the animals from a drought. He refuses help from the others but soon learns he needs their talents after all. The cartoony hand-drawn illustrations are humorous and playful, but the interaction between the tech-savvy rabbit and the rest of the animals feels slightly incongruous. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.