Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Pierloot's U.S. debut, this wonder-filled rainy-day reverie follows a bored girl, Camille, who escapes her house to cavort in a downpour. She drinks a little rain (it "tastes like dust, like clouds") and chats with creatures on their way to a mysterious "show," which Dek (A Walk in the Forest) reveals in a beautiful spread. The story's "zigzags and spins" create an uneven rhythm, but they echo the girl's own meandering and leave opportunities to pause and ponder. There are a few mismatches between words and pictures: text describing Camille running "her hand through the tall, wet grass," are paired with images that show her playing on the garden wall and splashing in a puddle. Still, her delight at her freedom is palpable in the flat-planed, saturated watercolors, which evoke a sense of petrichor and childlike whimsy. Playful details (an ant jauntily holding an umbrella, a fly assisting its fellow in escaping a spiderweb) lend a sheen of fantasy to match the child's imaginative curiosity. This inviting title will likely suit young nature-revelers and encourage rainy day wandering and wondering. Ages 3--6. (Sept.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--Lazy Sundays become the foundation for investigation and discovery in this story celebrating the beauty and wonder of nature. Camille is at home with her parents one Sunday, and everyone is keeping to themselves. But Camille is bored, and she decides to venture outside, where she finds herself caught in a rainstorm. The creatures she sees are all on their way to a "show," and Camille's curiosity inspires her to tag along. What she sees is enough to combat her boredom and to get her and her parents out of their house. Bright, vibrant illustrations bring the feeling of being in Camille's backyard into readers' minds. The text accompanying these images is likewise detailed, using elegant simile and metaphor to create a sensory experience. Shorter text and large visuals make this book accessible to young children, but the book's appeal stretches to older readers, as well. The story's design leads to an inevitable guessing game about what the "show" really is, culminating in a silent, mesmerizing, and impactful moment. As Camille encourages her parents to venture outside with her, so too does her story inspire readers to discover the "shows" happening in their own backyards. VERDICT A beautiful pairing of sensory text and illustrations creates a perfect invitation for readers to investigate the world around them.--Mary Lanni, formerly of Denver Public Library
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this homage to the beauty of the natural world, a young girls boredom becomes the catalyst for an afternoon spent outside. Its Sunday, and Camille, having read all of her books and tidied all of her pencils, slips out of the house. To her delight, the low gray clouds soon give way to loud claps of thunder and big raindrops that plop onto her head, roll down her hair and face. She spies a line of ants and, upon inquiry, learns that they are going to a show. Her afternoon discoveries continue as she encounters a spotted spider, a pair of snails, a bumblebee, and a gray cat, all of whom are going to the show. Camilles whats this show that everyone is talking about? curiosity is abated when she sees a chrysalis suspended from a branch. Time stops, and Camilles heart tightens as she watches it transform into a vibrant butterfly. Watercolor illustrations in warm jewel tones reflect the unpretentious and startling beauty that Camille discovers in her own backyard. Unassuming and earnest, this story gently beckons readers to step outside, where theres always a show to see. Emmie Stuart January/February 2020 p.77(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A young girl discovers the fascination of nature.Camille is bored one rainy Sunday and decides to go outside. There she communes with the raindrops, sticking out her tongue ("the rain tastes like dust, like clouds"), and "shivers with happiness" when the thunder comes. She talks to the ants, who tell her they are "going to a show." Camille naturally wonders what the show is, but the story doesn't go there directly. Instead, Camille cavorts. (Young readers will notice here that the illustrations do not sync with the text, which reads that she "runs her hands through the tall, wet grass" whose "strands tickle her palms," while the illustration shows Camille stretching on a brick wall and then splashing in a puddle.) When she spies a spider on a rose bush, weaving a web, she, too, mentions the show. Again, Camille wonders what the show is but, again, doesn't go looking. While pondering a big tree, she inadvertently comes upon the showa chrysalis opening. While the somewhat-scattered text doesn't follow a strong story arc, its meandering does underscore the whimsy of an unplanned walk in the rain. However, Dek's illustrationsrendered in watercolor (but so opaque as to look like gouache)dampen rather than uplift. Their clunky, ponderous style just doesn't appropriately complement a story about the evanescence, transformation, and luminosity of nature. All humans shown are white.A worthy theme of noticing the "show" of nature receives an uninspired illustrative treatment. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
