Downpour: Splish! Splash! Ker-Splash!

A young boy celebrates a refreshing storm in this joyous multisensory picture book about experiencing a cloudburst of rain on a hot summer day

It is a hot summer day. But soon dark clouds roll in. A boy looks up at the sky and smells the air as the first raindrops hit the ground. He listens as it begins to pour, observing all the symphony of sound this welcome downpour makes. He feels the water droplets on his skin and sees little rivulets of water on the sidewalk. ＂Badadada＂ he hears as the rain hits his yellow umbrella, ＂Ker-sploosh＂ as he jumps in a puddle. This boy uses all his senses to experience this refreshing summer storm. Koshiro Hata’s illustrations revel in the joy of nature in Yuko Ohnari’s new book featuring expressive onomatopoeia to sound out and enjoy. You’ll definitely want to play outside the next time it rains.

Koshiro Hata and Yuko Ohnari are a husband-and-wife creative team behind several picture books published in Japan. Hata also works as a manga artist and writes essays and children’s songs. They were both born in Osaka but now live in Tokyo. Emily Balistieri is an award-winning translator of children’s books living and working in Tokyo, Japan.