This Raindrop – Perfect Picture Book Friday

Title: This Raindrop Has a Billion Stories to Tell

Author: Linda Ragsdale

Illustrator: Srimalie Bassani

 Publisher: Flowerpot Press, 2020

Ages: 4-8

Nonfiction

Themes: raindrops, water cycle, water, stories, writing tools

Opening:

A raindrop has billions of stories to tell.
In fact, THIS raindrop has been here since time began.!

Synopsis:

This picture book follows a raindrop’s journey on Earth; from the time of the dinosaurs to the creation of the earliest cities and beyond. It explains how Earth has depended on the same water supply throughout its existence by flowing and falling all around us, fueling and forming much of what we have seen and used for millions of years.

Why I like this book:

The book cover is from stunning arlin paper with foil text enhancements, which makes for an exquisite feel to it and sets the scene for a nonfiction text full of feeling. Do let your children touch the cover. The text is lyrically educational, introducing a new understanding of the continuity of life and our planet’s natural journey, through the imaginary life trajectory of a drop of water. The fascinating potential life of a droplet and the melodious text will help inspire more curiosity and care for the natural world. It manages to be concrete and abstract in a child-friendly way and is a super creative introduction to the water cycle. I love how the author begins with how a droplet might have begun its life on the wing of a pterodactyl.

The author uses some words which won’t be familiar to young children, but the illustrations give supportive context. And while the alliteration may be lost on the youngest listeners, it is a great intro to this literary device for older students.

A terrific text to use about the water cycle and for imaginative writing.

Resources/Activities:

The back matter includes an explanation of the water cycle, the importance of water conservation, and resources for further reading,

In partnership with Trees for the Future (TREES), each book sold plants a tree. One sweet memory I have with my dad is planting a bunch of fruit trees with him when he move to France. Plant trees if you have a yard with your kids. Otherwise, find out about tree-planting in your city.

Older children might draw or write the journey of their own droplet of water.

Each week a group of bloggers reviews picture books we feel would make great educational reads. To help teachers, caregivers and parents, we have included resources and/or activities with each of our reviews. A complete list of the thousands of books we have reviewed can be found sorted alphabetically and by topics, here on Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher for review purposes. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.